Aleo: A New Direction for Privacy Blockchain

Aleo is a blockchain project dedicated to privacy protection, achieving a higher level of privacy and scalability through zero-knowledge proof ( ZKP ) technology. The core concept of the project is to enable users to authenticate their identity and process data without disclosing personal information.

Project Overview

Privacy

The core of Aleo is zero-knowledge proof technology, allowing transactions and the execution of smart contracts to occur while protecting privacy. Users' transaction details are hidden by default but can be selectively disclosed when necessary, making it very suitable for the development of DeFi applications. The main components include:

1. Leo is a programming language specifically designed for developing zero-knowledge applications ( ZKApps ), reducing the requirement for developers' knowledge of cryptography.

2. snarkVM and snarkOS: snarkVM allows off-chain execution of computations, with only the results verified on-chain, enhancing efficiency. snarkOS ensures the security of data and computations, and supports permissionless functionality execution.

3. zkCloud: Provides a secure and private off-chain computing environment, supporting programming interactions between users, organizations, and DAOs.

Aleo also provides an integrated development environment and software development kit, supporting developers in quickly writing and publishing applications. Developers can deploy applications in Aleo's program registry without relying on third parties, reducing platform risk.

Scalability

Aleo adopts an off-chain processing method, where transactions are first computed on the user's device, and then only the verification results are uploaded to the Blockchain. This method greatly enhances transaction processing speed and system scalability, avoiding issues of network congestion and high costs.

Consensus Mechanism

Aleo introduces AleoBFT, a consensus mechanism with a hybrid architecture that combines the instant finality of validators and the computational power of provers. AleoBFT enhances the degree of decentralization of the network, improving performance and security.

1. Block rapid finality: Ensure that each block is confirmed immediately after generation, enhancing node stability and user experience.

2. Decentralized Assurance: By separating block production and coinbase generation, it prevents a few entities from monopolizing the network.

3. Incentive Mechanism: Validators and Provers share block rewards; encouraging Provers to become Validators by staking tokens, enhancing the network's decentralization and computational power.

Aleo allows developers to create applications that are not restricted by gas, making it particularly suitable for applications that require long runtimes, such as machine learning.

Latest Developments

Aleo will launch an incentive testnet on July 1, important information includes:

1. ARC-100 vote passed, the team is making final adjustments.

2. The validator incentive program will start on July 1 and run until July 15, allocating 1 million Aleo points as rewards.

3. The initial supply is 1.5 billion tokens, with an initial circulating supply of approximately 10%.

4. Testnet Beta has completed the final network reset, adding ARC-41 and the new puzzle feature.

5. The code freeze was completed a week ago.

6. Verification Node Expansion Plan: Initially 15 nodes, with a target to increase to 50 within the year, ultimately reaching 500.

Synthesis Puzzle Algorithm Analysis

Aleo has recently updated its puzzle algorithm, called Synthesis Puzzle. The new algorithm no longer focuses on generating zk proof but emphasizes generating intermediate data witness. The core process of the algorithm is as follows:

1. A common EpochProgram is generated for each epoch.

2. Use nonce( composed of mining reward address, epoch_hash, and random number counter) as input.

3. Construct the R1CS proof circuit based on the EpochProgram and inputs, and generate the witness.

4. Use the witness as a leaf node of the Merkle tree to calculate the Merkle root.

5. Convert the Merkle root to the proof_target of the solution and verify if it meets the current epoch requirements.

6. Submit the solution and broadcast it if the requirements are met.

This update shifts the puzzle from generating proof to generating witness, with consistent computational logic within each epoch, but significant differences between different epochs. The new algorithm removes the previous MSM and NTT calculations and increases the difficulty of parallel implementation. This change will have a significant impact on mining strategies and efficiency.