Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum co-founder, puts 60% odds that SNARKs, fully homomorphic encryption and indistinguishability obfuscation will eventually operate at less than 10 times the cost of ordinary computation. This cryptography breakthrough could enable private shared-state financial applications and reduce reliance on intermediaries such as custodians, auditors, exchanges and clearinghouses. SNARKs are the most mature of the three technologies, while FHE and iO remain costly or unproven. Ethereum can still improve privacy incrementally using existing technologies without waiting for a universal breakthrough. Christopher Inks, founder of Texas West Capital, noted that cheaper cryptography could allow proprietary financial models to run on outside infrastructure without exposing private data or model mechanics.
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