Powers-of-Tau to the People: Decentralizing Setup Ceremonies

Valeria Nikolaenko; Sam Ragsdale; Joseph Bonneau; Dan Boneh

Paper 2022/1592

Powers-of-Tau to the People: Decentralizing Setup Ceremonies

Valeria Nikolaenko, Andreesen-Horowitz - a16z crypto research

Sam Ragsdale, Andreesen-Horowitz - a16z crypto research

Joseph Bonneau, Andreesen-Horowitz - a16z crypto research, New York University

Dan Boneh, Stanford University

Abstract

We introduce the first decentralized trusted setup protocols for constructing a powers-of-tau structured reference string. Facilitated by a blockchain platform, our protocols can run in a permissionless manner, with anybody able to participate in exchange for paying requisite transaction fees. The result is secure as long as any single party participates honestly. We introduce several protocols optimized for different sized powers-of-tau setups and using an on-chain or off-chain data availability model to store the resulting string. We implement our most efficient protocol on top of Ethereum, demonstrating practical concrete performance numbers.

Note: Missed citation added.

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Category: Cryptographic protocols
Publication info: Preprint.
Keywords: trusted setup ceremony kzg blockchain
Contact author(s): valeria nikolaenko @ gmail com
sragsdale @ a16z com
jbonneau @ gmail com
dabo @ cs stanford edu
History: 2024-02-29: revised; 2022-11-15: received; See all versions
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2022/1592
License: CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2022/1592,
      author = {Valeria Nikolaenko and Sam Ragsdale and Joseph Bonneau and Dan Boneh},
      title = {Powers-of-Tau to the People: Decentralizing Setup Ceremonies},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2022/1592},
      year = {2022},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2022/1592}
}