Investment: zCloak Network

Funding Proposals Investments
1

Name of Project

zCloak Network

Proposal overview

zCloak Network is a privacy-preserving computing platform. It enables a new computation paradigm where people can do computation/analysis of their data in client device, not in centralized servers. The integrity of their computation is proven by Zero-Knowledge Proof. With zCloak Network, people can use their real-world data for e.g. DeFi, Identity, Biometric applications without disclosing their privacy. zCloak Network will adopt a business model of Zero-Knowledge Proof as a Service for major public blockchains.

The flagship product on top of the zCloak Network is a DeFi KYC Gateway. It tries to explore a common ground between regulation (e.g. FATF standards) and the crypto world. Specifically, zCloak will help users to store their KYC information as verifiable credentials in their own device. A check of the user KYC info can be carried out as a computation of user data in user space instead of in centralized servers. As such, people can prove to a DeFi project that they are legitimate users without giving away any personal information. And the DeFi smart contract can be assured that only “good people” are using their service. The zCloak Network is built as a chain-agnostic service and will be made available in major public blockchains.

Technology wise, there are 3 key points:

  1. Data and computation are in user space, not in centralized servers. We regard this as the ultimate way to preserve user privacy.

  2. zk-STARK over zk-SNARK for better efficiency and decentralization. We use a zk-STARK virtual machine instead of normal ZK-proof. A STARK VM can enable users to do arbitrary computations required by 3rd parties.

  3. A well-designed mechanism to combine DID/Verifiable Credential and ZK-proof technology. So that we can guarantee two things: 1) the authenticity of user data; 2) the integrity of user computation.

The goal of this proposal is to integrate the zCloak infrastructure into the Harmony blockchain. Specifically, a set of oracle smart contracts will be constructed and deployed in Harmony—they will directly serve the Dapp project in the blockchain.

The functional design of the project has been accomplished. We are currently working on a MVP deployment on Moonriver of Kusama. Once everything is stable, we will start the migration to Harmony. We expect everything will be running in production mode in 3-4 months.

After the deployment of the zCloak service in Harmony, we will organize a series of activities to get users onboard—preferably with the help of the Harmony team. Then people will enjoy the benefits of using their real-world data for DeFi, game and metaverse applications without giving away any privacy.

Proposal ask

200k-250K USD
PR and community support during the on-boarding activities.

Metrics for success

The zCloak Network service deployed and running in production mode.

We plan to attract at least 2000 users who will participate in our real-world KYC process and use their identity credential for on-chain activities.

External links

Project website: https://zcloak.network
Project twitter: https://twitter.com/zCloakNetwork
Demo video: zkPass Demo from zCloak Network - YouTube

2

would you be able to share your current investors?

per Apply for Grants or DAO

" We also offer follow-on investments; but, at the moment, you must have an outside, lead investor for us to match the funding terms."

3

Yeah, you can find our seed round investment info here.

4

Thank you for submitting a proposal to Harmony’s $300M Ecosystem Fund

We are in the process of reviewing your proposal. We would also love :blue_heart: to have the Harmony community participate to ask questions and provide feedbacks.

If you have more details to add, please do so by replying to this thread.

5

our team is investing $100,000 in zCloak. here’s the investment transaction: Ethereum Transaction Hash (Txhash) Details | Etherscan

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6

Fund received. Thank you for your support! We look forward to working with Harmony in the near future :smile:

7

Zero-Knowledge proofs are one of the hardest mathematical and engineering problems to solve. Looking forward to a fruitful partnership with the zCloak team to deploy an identity-based use case solved by ZK proofs.

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