System Overview
ZKFund is a privacy-first on-chain governance and fund execution system built around the idea that validity must be public, but sensitive information must not. The system is designed to allow organizations to coordinate capital and make enforceable decisions without exposing identities, wallets, or strategies.
At a system level, ZKFund replaces visibility with cryptographic verifiability.
Design Objective
The primary objective of ZKFund is to support institutional-grade fund governance in adversarial environments.
Specifically, the system is designed to:
Enforce governance rules without public voting
Execute treasury actions without exposing signers
Settle assets without revealing balances or recipients
Provide auditability through proofs rather than data disclosure
ZKFund treats privacy as a security requirement, not an optional feature.
System Components
ZKFund consists of several cooperating components, each responsible for a distinct function in the governance and execution lifecycle.
1. Identity & Membership System
Issues zk-based credentials to members
Encodes roles and permissions
Enables proof-based authorization across the protocol
2. Proposal & Governance Engine
Manages proposal creation and lifecycle
Defines voting rules, quorum, and thresholds
Validates voting proofs without revealing voters
3. Execution & Multisig Engine
Verifies ZK multisig approval proofs
Enforces execution thresholds
Prevents unauthorized or replayed actions
4. Settlement & Treasury System
Handles asset movement privately
Interfaces with ZK Pools and stealth treasuries
Emits proof-only execution receipts
These components are modular but tightly integrated, ensuring end-to-end correctness without data leakage.
System Flow (High-Level)
At a high level, every action in ZKFund follows the same pattern:
Authorization A participant proves they are authorized to act using a zero-knowledge membership proof.
Decision A proposal is created and voted on using private voting mechanisms.
Approval Required signers approve the proposal using ZK multisig proofs.
Execution The system verifies all cryptographic conditions and executes the action.
Settlement Funds are settled privately, and proof receipts are recorded on-chain.
At no stage does the system rely on public identities or exposed state.
Trust Model
ZKFund minimizes trust assumptions:
Smart contracts are the sole enforcement authority
Governance outcomes are enforced automatically
Proofs replace reputation and social trust
Observers can verify correctness without access to private data
The only assumptions are:
Correctness of cryptographic primitives
Soundness of deployed circuits
Integrity of on-chain execution
Observability vs Confidentiality
ZKFund explicitly separates observability from confidentiality.
What is observable:
Proposal existence
Finalized outcomes
Execution success or failure
Proof verification status
What is confidential:
Voter identities and choices
Signer identities
Treasury balances
Asset allocation and routing
LP composition
This separation allows public verification without strategic exposure.
Why This Architecture Matters
Without this system-level separation:
Governance becomes manipulable
Funds become front-run targets
Compliance becomes invasive
Institutional adoption stalls
ZKFund’s system architecture enables:
Private coordination at scale
On-chain enforcement without disclosure
Compliance without surveillance
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