If you’ve been keeping up-to-date with several tech trends, you may have noticed the tremendous progress blockchain has made. According to DemandSage, the global market might reach $162.84 billion by the end of 2027, up from $32 billion in 2025. And it’s not only the technology market size that reveals its growing influence; even crypto prices reflect this momentum.

For instance, the XRP price USD has been trading at about $2.13 per coin recently, with up-to-date market data available on Binance, reflecting solid interest in 2025–26. Of course, one of the reasons institutions are opening their doors to these blockchain-based networks is their transparency. Blockchain ensures that once a transaction is recorded, every other person on the chain can view it. This comes in handy, especially when you want to verify transaction authenticity or prevent fraud.

But again, not every participant wants their personal information broadcast to the world, as that could provide grounds for attacks. In fact, just recently, hackers linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group stole $1.5 billion in crypto from a popular cold-storage multi-signature wallet. It’s because of such instances that users are becoming increasingly conscious of their privacy. Good enough, technologies like zero-knowledge proofs can help meet these needs.

So, what are zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) all about?

Think of ZKPs as a friend who claims they can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute. While you may not want to watch them do it, you absolutely need proof that they actually can. The friend may therefore opt to show you the completed cube without taking you through the step-by-step procedure. It’s the same way ZKPs work; they prove the validity of a claim without exposing the underlying data.

In simple terms, a ZKP is a cryptographic method where a “prover” can convince a “verifier” that a statement is true, without giving any other information beyond the statement’s validity itself. The method first emerged in the 1980s and has since evolved into a cornerstone of modern cryptography. Interestingly, JuCoins anticipates that up to 87 billion ZK proofs will be processed annually by 2030.

With this “zero-knowledge” concept, no personal information gets exposed during verification. And in the crypto industry, where the number of transactions processed in a single day is increasing, such privacy is of great importance. 

For instance, according to crypto exchange Binance, XRP’s circulating supply alone as of January 5, 202,6 was over 60 billion. Now, if this is for one cryptocurrency, imagine the sheer volume of sensitive transaction data circulating across all blockchains daily. That’s why you can’t ignore the need for privacy in this industry.

So, how can these technologies help?

The primary purpose of ZKPs in blockchain is to protect data confidentiality while ensuring trust across a decentralised infrastructure. And they do so in two major ways:

• Interactively, where the verification process involves a back-and-forth between prover and verifier
• Non-interactively, where proofs allow a single message to demonstrate the claim.

The non-interactive approach is especially popular because it reduces communication overhead while maintaining security. Cryptocurrencies like Zcash are already deploying this approach. Zcash uses zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge (zk-SNARKs) to enable shielded transactions. In other words, you can send money without revealing your address or even the amount.

When it comes to scalability, ZKPs are also proving to be helpful. Remember, scalability is one of the main reasons networks like Bitcoin have limited adoption. Bitcoin, as you may know, can only process up to about seven transactions per second. Of course, a forward-thinking business would rather adopt Visa, whose TPS can reach 24,000, than wait for Bitcoin’s network to clear just a handful of transactions in a second.

So, to align with modern preferences, ZK proofs enable much of the verification and computation to occur off-chain, which, in turn, reduces congestion on the main blockchain. In this way, the network can actually handle more users simultaneously without sacrificing security or privacy. Thankfully, companies like StarkWare and Aztec are already pioneering such solutions, which can be helpful, especially on public blockchains.

But it’s not a piece of cake

Well, even though ZK proofs could alter the future of blockchain transactions, they still face several challenges, including computational complexity. And the unfortunate thing is that verification time increases with complexity, too. According to dasroot.net, small circuits verify in less than 50ms, while larger ones can take up to 150ms. At the same time, the complexity of the underlying mathematical principles can limit adoption.

Equally worth noting is the shortage of blockchain professionals with advanced cryptography skills. Can you imagine that, according to ESRI, cryptography development is the most lacking skill for blockchain developers? And this comes at a time when Near Shore Business Solutions says, “70% of companies report hiring difficulties for blockchain positions.”

This shortage means that even as demand for privacy-preserving solutions skyrockets, the industry faces a bottleneck in talent capable of implementing and maintaining these advanced systems. As such, the technology needed to improve blockchain privacy could be available, but without enough skilled hands to build it, widespread adoption could lag behind the growing need.

But these limitations do not necessarily mean ZKPs won’t shape the future. After all, history shows that innovation always finds a way. And as more people gain knowledge of these technologies, the adoption of zero-knowledge proofs could likely accelerate. This is particularly so because of the growing need for more private interactions, even in the crypto industry