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Zero Knowledge Systems in Law & Policy
- Abhivardhan
- Dec 5, 2022
- 13 min read
Updated: Nov 16, 2025
Despite the market volatility attributable to cryptocurrencies, the scope of Web3 technologies and their business models is yet unexplored, especially in the Indian context. Few companies like Polygon, Coinbase India, Binance and others are addressing that. In this article, the purpose of Zero Knowledge System as a method to conduct cryptographic proofs is explored, and some policy questions on whether some ideas and assertions of ZKS can be integrated into the domains of law & policy are addressed, considering the role of India as a leader of the Global South.
The Essence of Zero Knowledge in Web3
To begin in simple terms, a Zero Knowledge System is based on probabilistic models of proof verification and not deterministic models. It is one of the methods in cryptography used for entity authentication.. Let us understand it with the help of a diagram.
Imagine for a moment that you may be required to prove something to somebody. Anyone in obvious terms would say that to prove anything, something has to be revealed. Let us say you have to prove people that "I have something K in possession" without showing K in possession. Now, taking directly this into the digital context, it means that you have to prove that you have K without showing K to the person. In that case, you are a prover, and the person who is asking for a proof is a verifier. Such a system, through which you prove something without revealing the key information it is known as a Zero Knowledge System. Now, every Zero Knowledge System (ZKS) has three important features.