a16z Crypto says term 'ZK' is widely misused in industry

a16z Crypto has criticized what it describes as the indiscriminate misuse of the term ZK (zero-knowledge) within the industry. The firm stated that many zkVMs (zero-knowledge virtual machines) currently on the market are not genuinely zero-knowledge. According to a16z, most of these systems are not zero-knowledge without undergoing a separate, costly "wrapping" procedure. This process, which involves recursively proving one proof within another zero-knowledge proof system, is not only computationally expensive but also often requires a trusted setup, forcing a compromise on transparency. The firm added that the industry is using "ZK" as a shorthand for systems with small proof sizes and fast verification speeds. However, a16z emphasized that the true essence of ZK lies in privacy protection, specifically in not revealing a prover's sensitive data.