Advocates of zero-knowledge proofs, a cryptographic technique first outlined in 1985, envision a future where we can prove that we know our Social Security number without revealing the nine-digit code or verify—with one click—that hospitals correctly billed our health insurers.
Among crypto enthusiasts, the technique has generated its fair share of buzz, and the startup RISC Zero announced on Wednesday that it had raised $40 million to help developers quickly generate zero-knowledge proofs for most forms of computation.
