zk Privacy Solution Comparison

zkBob | zk.money | Railgun | Tornado.cash |

How does zkBob compare to other privacy protocols?

zkBob provides everyday privacy to everyday users. Limits, compliant wallet checks, and other security features ensure that zkBob is a safe place for honest users to discreetly transfer stable value.

Different privacy solutions offer different tradeoffs for users seeking anonymity on-chain. Below are some features that set zkBob apart.

zkBob
Railgun
Secret Network
zk.Money (sunset & no longer active)
Tornado.cash (pre-ban)

Stable fees

$0.10/tx on Polygon $ dynamic stable fees on Optimism

variable

variable

variable

variable

Optional KYC

users can submit KYC to increase deposit limits.

No KYC option for individuals

No KYC option for individuals

N/A

N/A

No additional wallet required

standalone transfers and withdrawals from app

requires wallet

requires wallet

requires wallet

requires wallet

No native tokens required

Tokens used for all interactions and pay for gas fees

required for shielding

SCRT required for fees

required for withdrawal and deposit

required for withdrawal/deposit

Multisender

Deposit limits (non-KYC)

< 10K USDC per address in 24 hours, 300K total protocol per 24 hours

N/A

Tiered deposit limits (KYC'd)

< 20K USDC per address in 24 hours.

Current withdrawal limits

< 300K per day for the total protocol

Current pool size limits

2M USDC Polygon 10M USDC Optimism

TRM compliance integration

Risk management and illicit funds detection

Cloud API

Beta Gated implementation

A big differentiator between the protocols is zkBob’s use of tokens such as USDC for transactions and fees. With stable pools, transaction fees do not fluctuate for users (hard coded to $0.10 per tx on Polygon/ $0.50 per tx on Optimism). If the actual tx cost is less, the extra amount is collected and dedicated to protocol and user support. In rare cases when it costs more, txs are divided and processed in several transactions.

zkBob pools have the additional utility including the ability to introduce compounding and lost/expired token redistribution. These features on the roadmap will provide future incentives for zkBob users.

Multitransfer is another unique zkBob feature, allowing users to transfer to multiple zk addresses with a single transaction. This is especially useful for employers sending salary payments to many employees. Rather than create proofs and pay fees for each tx, these can be sent in bulk, saving time and overhead costs.

Additional zkBob roadmap items include multi-chain deployment, decentralized relayer infrastructure, and fast client state sync also set it apart from competitors in the space.

In the table below we explore some technical and operational differences between zkBob, zk.money and Tornado.cash (pre-ban).

Operational Comparison Table

zkBob
zk.money (now sunset)
Tornado.cash (pre-ban)

Deployment Chain

Polygon

Aztec Network Rollup

Ethereum/Gnosis Chain

zkSNARK

Groth’16

PLONK

Groth’16

Verification time

~3 ms

~ 6ms

~3 ms

Prover algorithm RAM requirements

~5MB

~900MB

~10MB

Trusted setup

Per circuit

Universal

Per circuit

Deposit gas size

642K

51K

910K

Arbitrary Deposits/Transfers/Withdrawals?

Regular TC TC Nova

Gas fee token(s)

-> USDC/ETH/BOB deposits & withdrawals (no native token required)

-> ETH deposits & withdrawals

-> ETH deposits & withdrawals

Transfer token(s)

USDC, ETH, BOB

zkETH / zkDAI / zkrenBTC

ETH, DAI, USDC

Transaction times

< 1 minute, Polygon infra

Variable (4hours to < 5 min) based on desired fee

< 1 minute, Nova on Gnosis Chain infra

Tokenomics

XP Auctions on roadmap

TORN governance token

Geo restrictions

implemented

Multi-chain deployment

Optimism & Polygon

(prior roadmap)

Decentralized relayers

On roadmap

(Multi-rollup infra on Roadmap)

Fast client-state sync

On roadmap

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