Zerocoin to zk-creds: Modern ZK History with Ian Miers

Ian Miers, an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland and a pioneering figure in zero-knowledge technology, covers a wealth of intriguing topics. He discusses his groundbreaking work on Zerocoin and Zcash, addressing early challenges in privacy on public ledgers. Ian shares the evolution of trusted setups, including Powers of Tau, and introduces his innovations like zk-creds for flexible anonymous credentials and zk-promises for anonymous reputation systems. The conversation also explores critical issues such as post-quantum security and the ethics of programmable privacy.