Zero Knowledge Stateful ZK Identity with Ian Miers
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Feb 4, 2026 Ian Miers, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and ZK researcher behind zk-creds and zk-promises, explains stateful zero-knowledge identity primitives. He discusses anonymous moderation, reputation systems that avoid de-anonymization, ZK Cookies for continuous anonymous auth, and building self-sovereign, mutable pseudonyms for private group chats and moderation.
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Callbacks Enable Anonymous Moderation
- ZK Promises program callbacks into a user's local state so external moderation actions can alter that state later.
- The client verifies callback events and enforces bans without revealing identities.
Require Earned Capabilities
- Design reputation systems to make new accounts grind for privileges rather than letting instant anonymity persist.
- Use ZK Promises to grant earned capabilities while keeping users pseudonymous.
Programmable Pseudonyms For Groups
- Cryptographic personas let groups run anonymous, moderated chats where membership is known but messages are pseudonymous.
- Personas enable throwaway or revealable pseudonyms to balance anonymity and accountability.
