New paper. ZEXE: Zero-knowledge Execution.Think of it like a private OS for the blockchain. Can build private tokens, smart contracts, and maybe even a DEX. Joint work with @matthew_d_green @ebfull @1HowardWu @zkproofs and Alessandro Chiesa eprint.iacr.org/2018/962.pdf
Because everything is private, the model isn't exactly Ethereum. Better to think of it as a fully private state channel where each transition can be checkpointed/validated on chain
ZEXE is basically a zkSNARK based micro-kernel for the blockchain. It provides the absolute minimum in process isolation while ensuring privacy and allowing inter process communication. It also makes all transactions succinct. So its scalable.
Because ZEXE is a micro-kernel,you can build different types of systems on top of it. Full fledged smart contracts, smart transactions, or something else. It gives you options. On the flip side, it doesn't provide these out of the box. It's an OS, not a language or framework.
With ZEXE, you can do smart contracts. But you can do simpler things. An ERC20 style token doens't need a full smart contract or a global state table (which would be a privacy nightmare). This avoids a lot of problems.
