Forge Capsule

Zero-Knowledge Proofs: SNARKs, STARKs and Recursive Composition

ZK-SNARKs: succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge. Groth16: 3 pairing operations, trusted setup required. PLONK: universal trusted setup. Halo2: no trusted setup (inner product argument). STARKs: hash-based, quantum-resistant, no trusted setup, larger proofs. Recursion: Halo accumulation scheme, Nova (folding). Applications: Zcash (shielded transactions), zkRollups (zkSync, Scroll, Polygon zkEVM), zkML (verifiable inference). Forge ZK: vote privacy (nullifier per proposal), sovereignty proofs (content integrity without revealing content).