Catenaa, Friday, March 06, 2026-Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z Crypto, released an upgrade to its Jolt zkVM and challenged what it called loose use of the term zero knowledge in blockchain development.
In a recent blog post, the firm said many so-called zkVMs do not deliver true zero-knowledge privacy unless an added wrapping process is applied.
That process typically involves recursively proving a zkVM proof inside another proof system that supports zero knowledge. The firm said the method can be computationally expensive and may require a trusted setup.
The post argued that “zk” has often become shorthand for succinctness, meaning proofs that are short and quick to verify, rather than proofs that protect sensitive data.
It said this confusion is growing more problematic as developers and investors place renewed focus on privacy.
Zero-knowledge proofs allow one party to confirm a statement is true without revealing the underlying data.
The technology gained traction in crypto with the launch of Zcash, which uses zk-SNARKs to shield transaction details. It has since been applied to Ethereum Layer 2 networks and other zk-rollup systems.
A16z Crypto said its open-source Jolt zkVM now natively supports zero-knowledge proofs after integrating the NovaBlindFold folding scheme.
The approach creates blinded proofs designed to prevent information leakage while adding only about 3 kilobytes to the original proof size.
The firm said the update makes Jolt more suitable for privacy-focused applications as demand for confidential blockchain systems grows.
