Highlights from the Cryptology ePrint Archive
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Skyscraper: Fast Hashing on Big Primes by Clémence Bouvier, Lorenzo Grassi, Dmitry Khovratovich, Katharina Koschatko, Christian Rechberger, Fabian Schmid and Markus Schofnegger: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/058

This paper introduces Skyscraper, a high-performance hash function designed for large prime fields, crucial for verifiable computation and ZKPs. Skyscraper significantly outperforms existing methods like Reinforced Concrete and Monolith, achieving speeds close to cryptographic standards. Its efficiency stems from low-degree transformations and minimized modular reductions, making it ideal for recursive proofs and blockchain apps.

This paper introduces Skyscraper, a high-performance hash function designed for large prime fields, crucial for verifiable computation and ZKPs. Skyscraper significantly outperforms existing methods like Reinforced Concrete and Monolith, achieving speeds close to cryptographic standards. Its efficiency stems from low-degree transformations and minimized modular reductions, making it ideal for recursive proofs and blockchain apps.

CAPSS: A Framework for SNARK-Friendly Post-Quantum Signatures by Thibauld Feneuil and Matthieu Rivain: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/061

This paper presents CAPSS, a framework for constructing post-quantum digital signatures optimized for SNARK efficiency. Utilizing the new SmallWood proof system, CAPSS achieves significant reductions in signature size and verification costs, outperforming existing SNARK-friendly schemes. The approach utilizes advanced hash-based commitments and arithmetization techniques, making it ideal for applications in blockchain and privacy-preserving cryptography.

SoK: Trusted setups for powers-of-tau strings by Faxing Wang, Shaanan Cohney and Joseph Bonneau: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/064

This paper comprises a comprehensive study on trusted setups in cryptographic protocols, particularly for powers-of-tau setups crucial in zk-SNARKs and blockchain apps. The research categorizes existing protocols, analyzing their security risks, ceremony structures, and real-world implementations. It highlights the importance of decentralized and verifiable multi-party setups to mitigate trapdoor risks.

Integer Commitments, Old and New Tools by Iftach Haitner, Yehuda Lindell and Nikolaos Makriyannis: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/081

This paper introduces a highly efficient setup protocol for RSA-based integer commitments, a key cryptographic tool used for secure commitments over integers. The report details improvements in range proofs, parameter generation, and equality proofs, making integer commitments more practical for real-world applications. These advancements enhance efficiency while maintaining security under the strong RSA assumption, addressing long-standing challenges in commitment well-formedness without relying on a trusted setup.

Fast, private and regulated payments in asynchronous networks by Maxence Brugeres, Victor Languille, Petr Kuznetsov and Hamza Zarfaoui: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/098

The paper presents the details behind Paxpay, a decentralized payment system designed to provide full privacy, regulatory compliance, and high performance in asynchronous networks. Unlike traditional blockchain-based models, Paxpay eliminates the need for consensus, significantly improving transaction speed while ensuring complete confidentiality through NIZKs. The system also incorporates regulatory controls, allowing for transfer limits and compliance enforcement without compromising privacy.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs of Quantumness by Duong Hieu Phan, Weiqiang Wen, Xingyu Yan and Jinwei Zheng: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/100

This paper discusses Zero-Knowledge Proofs of Quantumness, a breakthrough in quantum cryptography that prevents classical verifiers from exploiting quantum provers. Traditional proofs of quantumness risk revealing critical computational advantages, but ZKPoQ ensures security by allowing verification without exposing sensitive data. The study demonstrates how existing quantum proof schemes, including Shor’s factoring and Learning With Errors-based methods, can be enhanced with ZK principles.

Twist and Shout: Faster memory checking arguments via one-hot addressing and increments by Srinath Setty and Justin Thaler: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/105

This paper introduces Twist and Shout, a novel approach to memory-checking arguments that significantly improves prover efficiency in zkVMs. Using one-hot addressing and increments, these protocols outperform prior methods, reducing prover costs by over 10× in key apps. Twist handles read/write memory, while Shout optimizes read-only lookups. This advancement enhances zkVM execution speeds, particularly in large-scale computations like Jolt.

Verification-efficient Homomorphic Signatures for Verifiable Computation over Data Streams by Gaspard Anthoine, Daniele Cozzo and Dario Fiore: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/110

This paper states the details of a new homomorphic signature scheme, which significantly improves verification efficiency for verifiable computation over data streams. By optimizing linearly homomorphic signatures, their approach reduces verification costs by up to 88× compared to previous methods, without compromising security. This advancement benefits apps like financial analytics, stock market predictions, and sensor data processing, where real-time verification is crucial. The study presents two implementations - SPHinx' and SPHinx'' - demonstrating superior performance in handling large-scale data streams efficiently.

Post-Quantum Threshold Ring Signature Applications from VOLE-in-the-Head by James Hsin-Yu Chiang, Ivan Damgård, William R. Duro, Sunniva Engan, Sebastian Kolby and Peter Scholl: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/113

This paper presents a novel approach to post-quantum threshold ring signatures using the VOLE-in-the-Head ZKP system and AES encryption. The proposed scheme enhances scalability and linkability without relying on SNARKs, making it efficient for large rings. Additionally, the study extends its application to anonymous ledger transactions akin to Monero. The research introduces deterministic tags for signature binding, ensuring secure multi-party authentication.

How to Prove False Statements: Practical Attacks on Fiat-Shamir by Dmitry Khovratovich, Ron D. Rothblum and Lev Soukhanov: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/118

This study introduces new practical attacks on the Fiat-Shamir transform, a widely used cryptographic method for turning interactive proofs into non-interactive ones. The research demonstrates that for a standard proof system based on the GKR protocol, FS does not maintain security when applied with real-world hash functions. The authors construct explicit circuits that can generate valid proofs for false statements, raising concerns about the security of widely deployed cryptographic protocols. The findings suggest that FS-based systems require stronger safeguards to ensure soundness in practical apps.

KZH-Fold: Accountable Voting from Sublinear Accumulation by George Kadianakis, Arantxa Zapico, Hossein Hafezi and Benedikt Bunz: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/144

Researchers from @ethereumfndn and NYU have introduced KZH-Fold, a novel sublinear accumulation scheme aimed at enhancing accountable voting and distributed verifiable computation. By reducing communication overhead by 2000x and improving verifier efficiency by 50x, this method significantly outperforms traditional schemes like BLS-based aggregation. KZH-Fold enables large-scale consensus with millions of participants, offering faster verification and reduced computational costs, a crucial advancement for blockchain and decentralized governance systems.

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