Technology · ZAP

Prove it. Don't reveal it.

The Zero-knowledge Attestation Protocol is how we satisfy regulators, counterparties, and auditors without ever disclosing the underlying data. Groth16 proofs, ~240 bytes, carried on a fixed-frame binary wire — the network layer for confidential compliance.

Why a wire-level attestation protocol.

Every financial action needs a stack of proofs: you're KYC'd, you're solvent, the counterparty isn't sanctioned, the offering is exempt. Traditional systems move the plaintext data between parties — leaking information, creating copies to protect. ZAP moves proofs instead.

One protocol for all attestations — KYC, accreditation, solvency, sanctions
Batch-verifiable — 1000 proofs in <20ms
Regulator can verify without access to underlying data
On-chain via EVM precompile (0x0200) or off-chain for private flows

Specs.

Proof systemGroth16 over BLS12-381
Proof size~240 bytes
Verifier time~1.5ms on commodity CPU
Wire encodingBinary, tag-length-value, fixed-size frames
Trusted setupPer-circuit MPC ceremony (powers of tau + phase 2)
Hash / Fiat-ShamirPoseidon (in-circuit), SHA-256 for interoperability

Attestation circuits

Six standard ZAP circuits. Every one of them maps to a regulatory requirement that would otherwise demand plaintext data sharing.

Accreditation proof

User proves they&apos;re a Reg D 506(c) accredited investor without revealing income, net worth, or employer. Renewed every 90 days.

Sanctions-clear

Proves the counterparty address is not in the OFAC SDN / EU / UK / UN / HMT lists at timestamp T, without revealing the address.

Solvency (proof of reserves)

Custodian proves total liabilities ≤ total on-chain assets, with per-user Merkle-sum inclusion, without revealing individual balances.

KYC attestation (Travel Rule)

Originator VASP proves FATF-compliant KYC data exists for sender; receiver VASP verifies without receiving the data itself.

Jurisdiction proof

User proves residency in an allowed jurisdiction without revealing their specific country or address.

Eligibility (age, income, profession)

Age ≥ 18, income bracket, licensed-professional status — proven as a predicate, not disclosed.

Z-Chain & A-Chain

Two dedicated privacy-preserving settlement lanes where ZAP is first-class.

Z-Chain — confidential settlement

UTXO-style privacy lane. Amounts and counterparties are hidden; validity proven by ZK circuits. Regulatory view keys available for approved auditors. Same consensus and validator set as public chain.

A-Chain — attestation substrate

Account-model chain optimized for ZAP attestation anchoring. Compliance attestations, proof-of-reserves commitments, and sanctions snapshots anchor here — keeping the high-TPS trading chain lean.

Interop with FHE.

FHE keeps the input data encrypted; ZAP proves the computation on it was correct. Every encrypted match, risk calc, and compliance check emits a ZAP proof that regulators can verify without ever receiving the plaintext.

Encrypted trade match → ZK proof of valid fill
Encrypted portfolio VaR → ZK proof of limit compliance
Encrypted compliance screen → ZK proof of not-on-list

Wire protocol.

ZAP is a binary protocol, designed for HFT-grade latency. Tag-length-value encoding; no JSON, no base64, no protobuf reflection. Ships in the same UDP/QUIC channel as FIX traffic.

Proof verified at the FIX gateway, before the order books
QUIC multiplexing — proofs don't block orders
Pre-computed proofs cached at the edge for repeat attestations

Attest without exposing.

Ship regulated products where compliance is cryptographic, not paperwork.