Zcoin Debuts Lelantus: Next-Generation Privacy Protocol Offers High Practical Anonymity Similar to Cash

SINGAPORE, Oct. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ZCoin (XZC) today announced the launch of the testnet for Lelantus, a next-generation privacy protocol developed by Zcoin, which is the culmination of intense cryptographic research and development to deliver an elegant yet powerful solution for untraceable transactions. The Lelantus testnet will give users the opportunity to try out the new technology and provide valuable feedback as the project prepares for the mainnet launch by the end of 2020.

The latest Zcoin protocol ensures confidential and anonymous blockchain transactions of all sizes, with short verification times. Based on a modified construction of one-out-of-many proofs, Lelantus enables users to destroy coins of arbitrary amounts and to redeem brand new coins (even partially) that appear to have no previous transaction history associated with them.

"Lelantus pushes the boundaries of privacy with powerful technology that offers very high practical anonymity while requiring no trusted setup, and an elegant cryptographic construction that uses only well-established cryptographic assumptions," said Reuben Yap, project steward of Zcoin. "Private crypto transactions live today either suffered from low privacy via small anonymity sets or required a degree of trust, something that is against the philosophy of public blockchains. Zcoin addresses both these issues. Our aim with Lelantus is to offer long-lasting privacy even in the face of increasingly advanced blockchain analysis techniques without compromising on trustlessness."

The technology innovation of Lelantus is based on proven cryptographic assumptions, and elevates practical privacy based on elegant cryptography to new levels. With privacy front-and-center, this development gives Zcoin users the ability to anonymize transactions in just one-click. This approach carefully balances the need for regular transparent transactions, which can be turned on, with the belief that privacy is a fundamental human right that should be built-in.  

Lelantus markedly improves on the original Zerocoin protocol's performance, while enabling a key feature for anonymous transactions: confidentially transferring arbitrary amounts. Unlike Zcash, which is based on zkSNARKS, Lelantus requires no trusted setup. Lelantus is the trailblazer for other one-out-of-many proofs schemes that came after. This advanced cryptographic approach is already being considered by the likes of Monero, whose proposed Triptych protocol update would leverage many of the elements in Lelantus, including trustless set-up and obscured transactions.

Putting the option for private transactions front-and-center allows Zcoin users to access the breakthrough features of Lelantus at their fingertips while retaining easy integration with exchanges, wallets, and cross-chain bridges that require the speed and simplicity of regular transparent transactions.

Lelantus improves on other privacy protocols by removing the need for any trusted setup and using only DDH assumptions, making it more practical and simple-to-use, and the requirement of fixed denominations, which allows people to burn arbitrary amounts and redeem partial amounts without revealing values or the source. Zcoin worked with ABDK Consulting to audit the Lelantus cryptography and Trail of Bits to audit the Lelantus cryptographic library.

Stay tuned as Zcoin will also be undergoing a rebrand in the coming weeks that will highlight it's unique burn and redeem privacy mechanism.

About Zcoin

Zcoin is a privacy-first digital currency that enables untraceable transactions and true financial freedom from the prying eyes of large corporations, financial institutions, and oppressive governments. Zcoin advocates privacy as a fundamental human right, and enables users to regain control of their money. As a leading technology innovator, Zcoin designed a simple burn and spend model that strengthens privacy, while making it more broadly accessible.

SOURCE Zcoin

Related Links

https://zcoin.io/