Glossary

A guide to common terms used in Deeproof and the ZK landscape.

Attestation

A declaration or evidence that something is true. In Deeproof, an attestation is the digital claim that "User X is verified," backed by a cryptographic proof.

Circuit (ZK Circuit)

A program written for a Zero-Knowledge system (like Circom). It defines the "rules" of the proof. For example: "The input number must be greater than 18." The circuit compiles into code that generates proofs.

Commitment

A sort of "digital fingerprint." It is a hash of your secret data. You can reveal the Commitment publicly to prove you "locked" that specific data, without revealing the data itself.

Groth16

A popular, efficient Zero-Knowledge Proof protocol. It produces very small proofs (fast to verify on blockchains) but requires a "Trusted Setup."

Inherited Trust

Deeproof's core philosophy. Instead of verifying you ourselves, we mathematically prove that someone else (a trusted entity like Binance) has already verified you.

KYC (Know Your Customer)

The process where businesses verify the identity of their clients to prevent money laundering and fraud.

Nullifier

A unique code generated along with your proof. It is recorded on the blockchain to prevent "Double Spending" (using the same proof twice), while still preserving anonymity.

Prover

The entity generating the proof. In Deeproof, the Prover is You (specifically, your browser extension).

Verifier

The entity checking the proof. In Deeproof, the Verifier is the Smart Contract on the blockchain.

Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP)

A definitive cryptographic method to prove that you know a secret (like a password or ID number) or a fact (like "I am verified") without revealing the secret or fact itself.