StarkWare ZKThreads solution could prevent fund lockups similar to FTX

StarkWare’s ZKThreads introduces a new scaling framework to prevent fund lockups and improve DApp scalability, potentially averting scenarios like the FTX disaster.

StarkWare has announced the introduction of ZKThreads, a new scaling framework designed to prevent trapped funds and improve the scalability of decentralized applications (DApps). 

Louis Guthmann, head of product/market strategy at StarkWare, reflected on the impact of ZKThreads, telling Cointelegraph that the “layer-scaling technology [StarkWare] have built could prevent a disaster like FTX.” He said:

“What ZKThreads add is the ability for users to be confident that they will continue to be able to trade, even in a downtime scenario. For example, if a centralized exchange went down, which happens often, users could automatically be able to trade via the base layer. It will keep markets efficient, especially in the case of leveraged liquidations.”

Developed in collaboration with Cartridge, ZKThreads aims to tackle fragmentation issues by creating a standardized environment for building easily verified applications. 

This builds upon StarkWare’s vision of “fractal scaling,” an idea introduced in 2021 to offer an alternative to modern ZK systems, which often work separately, leading to scattered liquidity, resources and reduced app connectivity.

Related: White paper that birthed crypto ZK-proofs receives IEEE ‘Test of Time’ award

As the initiator of the ZKThreads project, Guthmann told Cointelegraph that “there are wide-ranging implications for the way we build DApps.”

“It’s opening up a whole new world, as the blockchain space primarily focuses on layer-based scaling. This is super important, but ZKThreads highlights the potential of horizontal scaling as a complementary approach.”

StarkWare’s layer-2 solution, Starknet, enables this horizontal scaling through execution sharding, enhanced with zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs. This process involves dividing tasks into smaller parts while ensuring that the confidential details of each executed task remain accurate, secure and private.  Guthman added:

“ZKThreads rethinks coprocessing by synchronizing it with the main chain, avoiding the typical isolation found in traditional models. This enhances security and trust and creates a seamless fabric of interoperable applications.”

Recently, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers awarded a decade-old research paper referred to as a “blueprint” for the first practical use of ZK-proofs. Eli Ben-Sasson, founder of StarkWare, was one of the publication’s authors.