Homo- (Greek prefix meaning ‘same’); -morphic (Greek suffix meaning ‘having a specific shape/form’)
Intuitively, one could deduct that homomorphic encryption indicates that the initial data and the encrypted result (cipher) could share the same form. Based on this property, it can be inferred that computation can be performed on the encrypted data, without prior decryption. By decrypting the result, you get the same output as the computation performed on the unencrypted data. While homomorphic encryption can be either additive or multiplicative, fully homomorphic encryption supports both types of operations. Unlike ZKPs, which are proofs of computational integrity, fully homomorphic encryption allows for encrypted data computation, without revealing additional information about the original data. This could provide the missing link for ensuring private transactions on blockchains’ public ledgers.

We were joined by Rand Hindi, CEO of Zama, to discuss fully homomorphic encryption solutions, how they differ from ZKPs & MPC, and how they can be leveraged to ensure compliant programmable privacy.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 - Introduction & dYdX ad
1:17 - Rand’s background and his interest in privacy
7:07 - Meeting Pascal and founding Zama
8:54 - Fully homomorphic encryption (FHE)
10:39 - Zero knowledge proofs vs. Multi-party computation vs. Fully homomorphic encryption
23:47 - Taking fully homomorphic encryption ‘mainstream’
26:23 - Zama’s products
27:56 - fhEVM
33:04 - How multi-party computation would secure fhEVM
37:06 - Multi-key homomorphic encryption & functional encryption
39:05 - Deploying an FHE rollup
46:01 - FHE use cases
49:46 - Privacy
56:03 - Zama’s business model

Links mentioned in this episode:
- Rand Hindi on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3uxy5iX
- Zama on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3uuYJJc
- Fhenix on Twitter: https://bit.ly/49T9FjW

Sponsors:
- dYdX Foundation: The recently launched dYdX chain features new governance and token economics, that empower stakers and promote validator decentralisation. Bridge your DYDX tokens and contribute to the evolution of dYdX chain, fully permissionless and community driven. - https://bit.ly/47kqG59

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/523
#zama #privacy #ethereum #fhe