Aleph Zero at BlockSplit 3: A Recap

The Aleph Zero team recently attended BlockSplit 3 to share the vision of creating private smart contracts with our unique merger of zero-knowledge proofs and secure multi-party computation technology.  

The BlockSplit 3 conference held between the 23rd and 25th of May in Split, Croatia, was a fertile ground for debate and discussion on the latest innovation in the blockchain sphere. Workshops for Web 3.0 developers were held on the 23rd of May allowing Aleph Zero developer Damian Straszak to learn about the new approach to blockchain oracles that RedStone Finance brings to the table. The 24th and 25th of May were dedicated to the expo, an exciting melting pot during which we had the chance to “talk shop” with the team members of various Web 3.0 projects and crypto enthusiasts. 

Additionally, conferences were also held during these days, giving the public a more scientifically exacting glimpse into the various aspects of the crypto space. The Aleph Zero team was especially excited by Adam Gagol’s inclusion as a speaker during this part of the conference. Over 600 attendees and 50 speakers from every part of the globe took part in BlockSplit 3, sharing their knowledge and insights on a wide range of subjects such as DeFi, NFTs, DAOs, and the intersection of blockchain and regulatory bodies. Truly an exciting event!

Aleph Zero’s Vision of Private Smart Contracts Presented

Among the many esteemed speakers at BlockSplit 3 was Aleph Zero co-founder Adam Gagol, who shared the team’s vision on the future of private smart contracts, a crucial building block for the proliferation of DeFi solutions. The presentation titled “Privacy limitations of DeFi systems based on ZK-SNARKs” explored the current state of the DeFi landscape while also showing the direction Aleph Zero is heading with the development of the Liminal privacy framework. Over the course of thirty minutes, Adam Gagol presented a succinct yet insightful argument for the feasibility of this endeavor. 

He began by exploring the differences between pseudonymity, anonymity, and full-blown privacy, showcasing that although the former two possibilities are already within our reach, the latter has still eluded the blockchain space. Following this introduction Adam dove into the mechanisms behind the tools that would allow the industry as a whole to develop into a genuinely privacy-minded environment. Aleph Zero’s key to solving this challenge involves a combination of non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs (NIZKP) and secure multi-party computation (sMPC). Adam highlighted the differences between Aleph Zero’s solution—which we aim to build in a purely software-based fashion—and the hardware-based trusted execution environments (TEEs), while also stressing the strengths and weaknesses of both of these respective cryptographic primitives. 

BlockSplit 3: Blockchain Goes Balkan  

We were thoroughly impressed with the level of organization and quality of the BlockSplit 3 conference. It was a wonderful experience networking with like-minded people and sharing our collective vision and knowledge on the blockchain space. The spirit of solidarity was strong, as was the never-ending desire to continually improve the Web 3.0  experience for the end-users. We hope to come back again and to continue building the relationships that we made during the conference!