Send Crypto to Gmail Account: New ZK Tech Revealed

Yet another eccentric cryptocurrency application on zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) addresses the Web2-Web3 synergy in an entirely novel way. With Bonsai Pay, every Google account can be turned into a non-custodial crypto wallet almost seamlessly.

Sending Ether to Gmail account becomes possible with ZK proofs

Bonsai Pay by RISC Zero, an open source ZK-powered payments platform designed to allow every Gmail user to receive Ethereum (ETH) payments, has landed to the Sepolia Ethereum testnet. It is a new-gen way to replace sophisticated Ethereum (ETH) wallet addresses with familiar email contacts.

We believe ZK tech is ready for mass adoption and the number of real world usecases is staggering.

We’re proud to share our latest ZK-tech showcase: Bonsai Pay, an open source ZK-powered payments platform that enables users to send crypto to any Google account using Ethereum.

— RISC Zero (@RiscZero) November 10, 2023

As per the team’s statement, any active Google account is compatible with the service and requires zero additional setup to start receiving ETH funds.

Technically, cryptocurrency is transferred via an escrow contract created on the Ethereum (ETH) network. Recipients can retrieve assets from this escrow just by logging into Gmail and generating a zero-knowledge proof.

JSON-based identity tokens and OpenID Connect Protocol are technologies the new product is backed by. Its core codebase is written in the Rust programming language.

Also, it leverages the protocol’s own virtual machine dubbed RISC Zero zkVM. Moreover, this instrument can be used by third-party developers via API keys.

ZK-powered projects on fire as Ethereum’s L2s recovering

The live demo of the protocol has been launched on top of Sepolia: The team invites all developers to stress-test it and share feedback on GitHub.

ZK-proof is a cryptographic method by which the prover can prove to the verifier that this or that statement is true, while avoiding disclosing any information beyond the mere fact of the statement’s truth.

ZK-proofs are used in many of the top-tier L2 protocols on top of the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet. Three of them, Polygon zkEVM, zkSync Era and Scroll, showed double-digit increases in TVL over the last 24 hours.

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