Cardano Welcomes First ZK Smart Contract on Mainnet: Details

Layer-1 Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain, Cardano is evolving with a new advancement in its smart contract pursuit. As the protocol’s core developer Sebastian Guillemot revealed, Halo2, the first Zero Knowledge (ZK) transaction is now live on the mainnet.

The Cardano ZK Smart Contract Perks

Guillemot published the transaction hash for the transaction as “71579b77ab7d974eb31ef1b50d58f14f2ceac2bcf540aac50f777f56a8f24bff.” for easy verification on explorers.

He revealed that the ZK smart contract transaction was powered by Plutus v3. With this inauguration push, this new innovation will make room for zkApps and partnerchains on the mainnet. As he pointed out, both protocol will gain advantage to to settle easily on the Cardano mainnet.

In a separate post, Input Output Global pointed out that it ran the verification of Halo2 ZK Proof campaign. This push had a direct target to serve the Ad-hoc Threshold Multi-Signatures Schemes (ATMS). With this, it was able to check 50 out of 50 signatures.

In simulating real world use cases of the smart contract protocol, IOHK said the testnet recorded low transactions fees. Of the transaction fee for token locks, it charged 0.16 ADA. In complement, the unlocking fee on Halo2 costs a total of 2.03 ADA.

With the core goal of scaling transactions, the cheap option on offer by Halo2 makes it competitive compared to alternatives on chain.

The first tx locks the funds, the second unlocks the funds upon verification of a Halo2 proof for ATMS signature 50 out of 90. The locking tx costs 0.16 ADA fee, the unlocking tx (Halo2 verification) 2.03 ADA fee which is reasonably low.

— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) November 26, 2024

Described as a secure, fast and practical engine, the Halo2 innovation testing shows Cardano can enhance scalability as much as Ethereum developers are doing.

The Square Pegs In The Square Holes

The plans to launch a ZK feature for Cardano predates the current milestone scored by the Cardano researchers. With fight for dominance among core rival chains, the ZK move comes off as a right peg in the right hole.

Cardano has championed upgrades over the course of the past year. As reported by Coingape, the platform revealed the gamified Hydra Doom testing. This testing will incentivize users and build on the previous records for Hydra.

Amid this important milestones, the price of Cardano has fallen below the $1 milestone as the broader market slipped. As of writing, the coin was changing hands for $0.9220, down by 7.37% in 24 hours.

In a recent ADA price analysis, it remains unclear whether this stall is an end to the 220% rally seen over the past month.