Analysis and comparison of the popular zero-knowledge proof algorithms

The objective of this thesis is to examine zero-knowledge proof-of-knowledge schemes that seek to substantiate the veracity of information without divulging any confidential information. Additionally, the study aims to propose schemes that are well-suited for these scenarios by conducting a comparative analysis of various application scenarios and the information obtained. Additionally, real-world applications in finance, health, business and other general-purpose real-world applications as presented in the literature are analysed and the schemes used in these applications are investigated. Zero-knowledge proof schemes are grouped according to criteria parallel to those used in the literature. Applications are developed with an algorithm from the current schemes representing these groups and compared in the light of basic criteria such as proof size, proof generation time, proof verification time and whether pre-installation is required. Various suggestions are made for certain usage scenarios. It was determined that all of the compared schemes are capable of meeting the security and privacy needs of decentralized systems, such as blockchains. Zk-SNARK schemes were found to have a relatively short proof size, but a longer proof time than other schemes, require a significant amount of memory usage and necessitate pre-installation. However, Bulletproof schemes are found to have the shortest proof size, although this increases the proof time. Zk-STARK schemes are relatively new, but they are highly secure, even for the post-quantum era and offer the promised proof size and proof time.