Comparison of Sui Ecosystem's Sub-Second MPC Network Ika and Privacy Computing Technology

1. Overview and Positioning of the Ika Network

Ika Network is an innovative infrastructure based on Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology, strategically supported by the Sui Foundation. Its most notable feature is its sub-second response time, which is a first in MPC solutions. Ika is highly compatible with the underlying design concepts of the Sui blockchain in terms of parallel processing and decentralized architecture, and will be directly integrated into the Sui development ecosystem in the future, providing plug-and-play cross-chain security modules for Sui Move smart contracts.

Ika is building a new security verification layer, which serves both as a dedicated signing protocol for the Sui ecosystem and a standardized cross-chain solution for the entire industry. Its layered design balances protocol flexibility and development convenience, and is expected to become an important practical case for the large-scale application of MPC technology in multi-chain scenarios.

1.1 Core Technology Analysis

The technical implementation of the Ika network revolves around high-performance distributed signatures, with the main innovations including:

• 2PC-MPC Signature Agreement: An improved two-party MPC scheme is used, which decomposes the user private key signing operation into a process jointly participated by "User" and "Ika Network."

• Parallel Processing: Utilizing parallel computing, the single signature operation is decomposed into multiple concurrent subtasks executed simultaneously between nodes, significantly improving speed.

• Large-scale node network: Supports thousands of nodes participating in signatures, with each node holding only a part of the key fragment, enhancing security.

• Cross-chain control and chain abstraction: Allows smart contracts on other chains to directly control accounts in the Ika network (dWallet) by deploying lightweight clients of the corresponding chain to verify the chain state.

1.2 The impact of Ika on the Sui ecosystem

The launch of Ika may bring the following impacts to Sui:

• Provides cross-chain interoperability, supporting assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum to access the Sui network with low latency and high security.

• Provide a decentralized custody mechanism, allowing users and institutions to manage on-chain assets through multi-signature.

• Simplify cross-chain interaction processes, smart contracts on Sui can directly operate accounts and assets on other chains.

• Provide multi-party verification mechanisms for AI automation applications to enhance the security and credibility of AI when executing transactions.

1.3 Challenges faced by Ika

Ika still faces some challenges:

• More acceptance of blockchain and projects is needed to become a "universal standard" for cross-chain interoperability.

• The issue of revoking signature permissions in the MPC scheme remains controversial.

• Dependence on the stability of the Sui network and its own network conditions.

• Sui's DAG consensus model may introduce new ordering and consensus security issues.

2. Comparison of projects based on FHE, TEE, ZKP or MPC

2.1 FHE

• Zama & Concrete: Adopts a "layered Bootstrapping" strategy, supporting "hybrid encoding" and "key packing" mechanisms.

• Fhenix: Customized optimization for the Ethereum EVM instruction set, designing an off-chain oracle bridging module.

2.2 TEE

• Oasis Network: introduces the concept of "layered trust roots", utilizing the ParaTime interface and the "durable logging" module.

2.3 ZKP

• Aztec: Integrates "incremental recursion" technology, uses a parallelized depth-first search algorithm, and provides a "light node mode".

2.4 MPC

• Partisia Blockchain: An extension based on the SPDZ protocol, adding a "preprocessing module" to support dynamic load balancing.

3. Privacy Computing FHE, TEE, ZKP and MPC

Overview of Different Privacy Computing Solutions

• Fully Homomorphic Encryption ( FHE ): Allows arbitrary computation on encrypted data without decryption.

• Trusted Execution Environment ( TEE ): A trusted hardware module provided by the processor that can run code in an isolated secure memory area.

• Multi-Party Computation ( MPC ): Allows multiple parties to jointly compute a function output without revealing their respective private inputs.

• Zero-Knowledge Proof ( ZKP ): Allows the verifier to validate a statement as true without revealing any additional information.

3.2 Scenarios for the Adaptation of FHE, TEE, ZKP, and MPC

• Cross-chain signing: MPC and TEE are more suitable, while FHE is less suitable.

• DeFi Scenarios: MPC is widely used in multi-signature wallets, vault insurance, institutional custody, and more.

• AI and Data Privacy: FHE has obvious advantages in protecting sensitive data processing.

3.3 Differences in Existing Solutions

• Performance and latency: FHE has higher latency, TEE has the lowest latency, and ZKP and MPC are in between the two.

• Trust assumptions: FHE and ZKP do not require trust in third parties, TEE relies on hardware and vendors, and MPC depends on the behavior of participants.

• Scalability: ZKP Rollup and MPC sharding support horizontal scalability, while FHE and TEE scalability is limited by resources.

• Integration Difficulty: TEE has the lowest access threshold, ZKP and FHE require specialized circuits and compilation processes, and MPC requires protocol stack integration.

4. Market Perspective: "Is FHE Superior to TEE, ZKP, or MPC?"

FHE is not superior to TEE, MPC, or ZKP in all aspects. Various privacy technologies have their advantages and limitations, and there is no "one-size-fits-all" optimal solution. The choice of technology should depend on application requirements and performance trade-offs. The future privacy computing ecosystem may lean towards combining the most suitable technical components to build modular solutions.