Open Asset Standards, a startup, has announced QED, a breakthrough ZK 2.0 blockchain protocol. Unlike existing zero-knowledge blockchain protocols, QED features a unique, horizontally scalable state model, overcoming the TPS restrictions that hindered the application of blockchain in various Web2 use cases such as social networks, traditional finance, and gaming.
Utilizing advancements in fast recursive zero-knowledge proofs, QED balances scalability with security and decentralization, verifying all transactions end-to-end via proof recursion. Consequently, it produces a single block proof that an Ethereum smart contract can verify, making the protocol solely dependent on the Proof of Math, thereby eliminating the risks associated with consensus systems based on incentives.
QED is the first zk-Native blockchain, eliminating the need for a zk-VM by directly compiling smart contract functions to zero-knowledge circuits. With this approach, users can prove their transactions on their own devices in milliseconds, ushering in a new era of privacy-centric internet where transactions are private by default, and sensitive data never leaves the user's device.
Open Asset Standards also revealed Dapen, QED's official Dapen Smart Contract IDE, which allows Web2 developers to write zk Smart Contracts in JavaScript and Python, massively popular programming languages. Dapen also supports Markdown smart contracts, enabling even non-technical users to write smart contracts in English with its integration with large language AI models like ChatGPT.
Backed by Sparkle Ventures, QED is expected to see significant adoption within the gaming space. Its horizontal scaling model allows it to simply add more proving nodes to its network to increase transaction processing capacity, making large-scale gaming integration with blockchain technologies possible for the first time.
