V-zor: Quantum-Driven ZKP Oracle Relays Enable Verifiable Cross-Blockchain Communication, Mitigating $2.8 Billion in Risks

Cross-chain communication currently relies on vulnerable bridges and oracles, responsible for losses exceeding $2. 8 billion due to security flaws and unreliable data validation. M. Z. Haider, Tayyaba Noreen from ETS Montréal, M. Salman, and Kaiwen Zhang address this critical issue by introducing V-ZOR, a novel verifiable oracle relay. This system fundamentally improves security by integrating zero-knowledge proofs with a new approach to randomness and cross-chain restaking, eliminating the need for potentially compromised multisignature schemes or optimistic assumptions. V-ZOR achieves trust-minimized operation, demonstrably increasing the cost of collusion and delivering high performance with sub-300k gas verification and one-block latency, representing a significant step towards a more secure and reliable cross-chain future for decentralised finance.

Verifiable Cross-Chain Data with Zero-Knowledge Proofs

V-ZOR is a novel protocol engineered to provide secure and efficient cross-chain data delivery, addressing limitations in existing systems. Scientists developed this system by integrating advanced cryptographic techniques to achieve trustless and verifiable communication between blockchains. The core of V-ZOR utilizes zero-knowledge proofs, specifically Halo 2 SNARKs, to prove the correctness of off-chain data aggregation without revealing the underlying data itself, ensuring both data integrity and privacy. To further enhance security, the system employs simulated quantum randomness, using verifiable random functions to select reporters in an unbiased manner, preventing manipulation of the data aggregation process.

A unified restaking framework incentivizes honest behavior and penalizes malicious actors, with reporters staking tokens that are slashed if they attempt to manipulate the data. V-ZOR offers several key benefits, including trustless operation, verifiable correctness, enhanced security, efficiency, low cost, fast finality, and high security. The system achieves claims of sub-second proof generation and fast on-chain verification, with constant-cost on-chain verification below 300,000 gas. Data verification achieves one-block finality, and the system significantly raises the threshold for profitable manipulation compared to existing solutions.

The method involves off-chain reporters collecting and aggregating data, generating a Halo 2 SNARK to prove correctness, submitting the proof to a smart contract for efficient verification, and rewarding honest reporters while penalizing malicious ones. Compared to solutions like Chainlink CCIP and Wormhole v2, V-ZOR’s cryptographic guarantees, objective slashing, and efficiency offer a more secure and reliable approach. Future work includes integrating live quantum random number generation sources, expanding compatibility to more blockchains, formally verifying cryptographic guarantees, optimizing stake distribution, and exploring adaptive committee sizing for scalability. Ultimately, V-ZOR aims to provide a robust and secure foundation for building trustless and interoperable blockchain applications.

Secure Cross-Chain Communication with Zero-Knowledge Proofs

V-ZOR represents a significant advancement in cross-chain communication, addressing vulnerabilities inherent in existing oracle designs. Researchers have developed a verifiable oracle relay that integrates zero-knowledge proofs, randomized committee selection, and a unified restaking framework to deliver secure and decentralized data transfer between blockchains. By employing Halo 2-based proofs, the system verifies data aggregation without relying on multisignatures or optimistic assumptions, thereby enhancing trust and reliability. The team demonstrated that V-ZOR substantially increases the cost of malicious manipulation, raising the threshold for profitable attacks to over $9.

6 million, ten times higher than comparable systems. A prototype implementation achieved sub-300k gas verification, one-block latency, and rapid slashing of malicious reporters, confirming its practicality for high-frequency, real-time cross-chain operations. The modular and trustless architecture positions V-ZOR as a promising solution for rollups and decentralized finance protocols.

Verifiable Oracle Relay Enhances Cross-Chain Security

The research team presents V-ZOR, a novel verifiable oracle relay designed to enhance security and performance in cross-chain decentralized systems. Recognizing vulnerabilities in existing oracle designs, which have suffered losses exceeding $2. 8 billion, the team developed a system integrating zero-knowledge proofs, randomized processes, and a unified restaking framework. V-ZOR addresses critical issues of trust failures, opaque validation, and weak incentives inherent in current oracle technologies. Central to V-ZOR’s operation is the inclusion of Halo 2 proofs within each oracle packet, verifying the accurate aggregation of reported data using a deterministic median.

This cryptographic verification ensures data correctness without reliance on multisignatures or optimistic assumptions. To prevent manipulation, V-ZOR employs a reseeding mechanism for its randomness function using auditable entropy, guaranteeing unpredictable and impartial reporter selection. Reporters stake assets on a shared restaking hub, enabling a slashing mechanism triggered by fraud proofs submitted from any connected chain. Prototype testing on the Sepolia and Scroll networks demonstrates V-ZOR’s high performance, achieving sub-300k gas verification costs and one-block latency. Measurements reveal stable throughput ranging from 1.

5 to 1. 7 transactions per second, coupled with slashing response times between 4. 8 and 7. 9 seconds. Economically, the system raises the threshold for profitable manipulation to over $9.

6 million, representing a ten-fold increase compared to existing solutions like Chainlink CCIP and Wormhole v2. Further analysis demonstrates V-ZOR’s efficiency, achieving approximately 0. 83 seconds for proof generation, sub-23 second latency, and slashing within 8 seconds. These results confirm the practicality of V-ZOR for secure, high-frequency cross-chain oracle operations. The team anticipates future work will focus on integrating live quantum random number generation sources, broadening compatibility to additional blockchains, and rigorously formalizing the system’s cryptographic guarantees.