EY has revamped its Nightfall Ethereum layer-2 blockchain to a zero-knowledge rollup design named “Nightfall_4,” enhancing transaction speed and access for corporate clients amid easing U.S. sanctions. The update simplifies operations and accelerates finality without requiring a challenging node, paving the way for greater adoption of privacy solutions in legitimate business contexts.
Big Four accounting firm EY has transitioned its Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, Nightfall, to a zero-knowledge rollup model, responding to corporate clients’ growing comfort amid easing U.S. sanctions. As announced on April 2, the new design, dubbed “Nightfall_4,”Streamlines the network’s architecture, promising rapid transaction finality and enhanced accessibility when compared to its previous optimistic rollup version.
Paul Brody, EY’s global blockchain leader, explained that this shift to a ZK-rollup system not only ensures instant transaction finality but also simplifies operations by eliminating the need for a challenger node that verifies transactions. With zero-knowledge rollups, transactions become final as soon as they are added to a Nightfall block, resulting in a much quicker completion process.
Launched in 2019, Nightfall has seen four significant updates, facilitating private token transfers for business partners while harnessing Ethereum’s security at a lower cost. A notable feature includes binding verified identities to public keys via digital signatures to mitigate counterparty risk.
Brody noted that previous OFAC sanctions on the mixing service Tornado Cash had discouraged legitimate businesses from exploring privacy solutions. With those sanctions lifted, he remarked, “the removal of OFAC sanctions has really helped people feel comfortable that using a privacy technology will not be risky.” Nightfall operates as an open-source solution on GitHub, albeit as a permissioned blockchain tailored for EY’s clients.
EY’s blockchain team aims to create a single environment for payments, logic, and composability, necessitating the coordination of Nightfall and Starlight, a tool for applying zero-knowledge proofs in complex agreements. As Brody mentioned, initial support will focus on deploying Nightfall_4 before progressing to Nightfall_5.
This article highlights EY’s recent transition of its Nightfall blockchain to a zero-knowledge rollup design, enhancing transaction speed and efficiency. The easing of U.S. sanctions on Tornado Cash has rekindled interest in privacy technologies among legitimate businesses. The continuous evolution of Nightfall signifies EY’s commitment to providing robust and secure blockchain solutions for corporate clients.
Original Source: cointelegraph.com
