zkLogin: Onboarding the next billion users to web3

Deepak Maram (Mysten Labs) introduces zkLogin, a user-friendly innovation for cryptocurrency wallets. As the gateway to blockchain technology, wallet accessibility is paramount. Traditional methods like mnemonics or hardware wallets often deter new users due to their complexity. zkLogin simplifies this process by using identity tokens from familiar platforms (e.g., Google, Facebook, etc.) to authenticate transactions. zkLogin leverages zero-knowledge proofs to ensure that the link between a user’s off-chain and on-chain identities is hidden, even from the platforms themselves. More than nine months since its deployment on the Sui blockchain, zkLogin has shown promising potential in improving user experience.

About the presenter

Deepak is a Research Scientist at Mysten Labs, focusing on the development of the Sui blockchain. His expertise lies in security, privacy-enhancing technologies, with a focus on blockchain applications. He earned my PhD from Cornell Tech, where he was supervised by Prof. Ari Juels. His research covers a broad spectrum of security and applied cryptography topics, including privacy-preserving TLS oracles (DECO, CanDID), verifiable file geolocation and secure authentication to name a few.

About a16z crypto research

a16z crypto research is a multidisciplinary lab that works closely with our portfolio companies and others toward solving the important problems in the space, and toward advancing the science and technology of the next generation of the internet. More about us: a16z.com/2022/04/21/announcing-a16z-crypto-research