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Open AccessArticle
Evaluating the Efficiency of zk-SNARK, zk-STARK, and Bulletproof in Real-World Scenarios: A Benchmark Study
by
Mohammed El-Hajj
Mohammed El-Hajj *,†
and
Bjorn Oude Roelink
Bjorn Oude Roelink †
Department of Semantics, Cybersecurity & Services, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Information 2024, 15(8), 463; https://doi.org/10.3390/info15080463 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 29 June 2024
/
Revised: 23 July 2024
/
Accepted: 1 August 2024
/
Published: 2 August 2024
Abstract
This study builds on our previous systematic literature review (SLR) that assessed the applications and performance of zk-SNARK, zk-STARK, and Bulletproof non-interactive zero-knowledge proof (NIZKP) protocols. To address the identified research gaps, we designed and implemented a benchmark comparing these three protocols using a dynamic minimized multiplicative complexity (MiMC) hash application. We evaluated performance across four general-purpose programming libraries and two programming languages. Our results show that zk-SNARK produced the smallest proofs, while zk-STARK generated the largest. In terms of proof generation and verification times, zk-STARK was the fastest, and Bulletproof was the slowest. Interestingly, zk-SNARK proofs verified marginally faster than zk-STARK, contrary to other findings. These insights enhance our understanding of the functionality, security, and performance of NIZKP protocols, providing valuable guidance for selecting the most suitable protocol for specific applications.
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MDPI and ACS Style
El-Hajj, M.; Oude Roelink, B.
Evaluating the Efficiency of zk-SNARK, zk-STARK, and Bulletproof in Real-World Scenarios: A Benchmark Study. Information 2024, 15, 463.
https://doi.org/10.3390/info15080463
AMA Style
El-Hajj M, Oude Roelink B.
Evaluating the Efficiency of zk-SNARK, zk-STARK, and Bulletproof in Real-World Scenarios: A Benchmark Study. Information. 2024; 15(8):463.
https://doi.org/10.3390/info15080463
Chicago/Turabian Style
El-Hajj, Mohammed, and Bjorn Oude Roelink.
2024. "Evaluating the Efficiency of zk-SNARK, zk-STARK, and Bulletproof in Real-World Scenarios: A Benchmark Study" Information 15, no. 8: 463.
https://doi.org/10.3390/info15080463
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