Title: EY · Vendor · EthSystems URL Source: https://original.es-internal.pages.dev/vendors/ey/ Markdown Content: --- description: A production-ready Zero-Knowledge rollup for private token transfers with enterprise compliance features. Nightfall v4 implements a ZK rollup that provides immediate finality and supports ERC20, ERC721, ERC1155, and… title: EY · Vendor · EthSystems image: https://original.es-internal.pages.dev/og.png --- [Skip to content](#main-content) # EY (Enterprise Privacy Stack) ## Nightfall v4 ### What it is A production-ready Zero-Knowledge rollup for private token transfers with enterprise compliance features. Nightfall v4 implements a ZK rollup that provides immediate finality and supports ERC20, ERC721, ERC1155, and ERC3525 tokens with X509 certificate-based access control. ### Fits with patterns * [Private Stablecoin Shielded Payments](/patterns/pattern-private-stablecoin-shielded-payments/) * [Privacy L2s](/patterns/pattern-privacy-l2s/) * [Regulatory Disclosure Keys & Proofs](/patterns/pattern-regulatory-disclosure-keys-proofs/) * [Private ISO 20022](/patterns/pattern-private-iso20022/) ### Not a substitute for * General-purpose privacy L2s (focused on enterprise transfers) * Public DeFi composability (limited composability by design) * Low-resource deployment environments (requires significant compute) ### Architecture Client-Proposer model with separate containerized roles. Clients generate UltraPlonk proofs for private transactions and submit to Proposers who create Layer 2 blocks with rollup proofs. X509 certificate validation gates all network access. Uses commitment-nullifier privacy model (UTXO-style) with MongoDB storage for metadata and Merkle tree state. Supports webhook integration for asynchronous processing. ### Privacy domains * Certificate-gated private transfers with immediate ZK rollup finality * Selective disclosure for regulatory compliance and audit trails * Enterprise treasury operations with confidential payment flows ### Enterprise demand and use cases Target segments include multinational corporations, financial institutions ### Technical details * UltraPlonk proof system with no per-circuit trusted setup * supporting ERC20/721/1155/3525 standards * RESTful APIs for deposit, transfer, withdraw operations with X-Request-ID tracking * Integration with LocalWallet and AzureWallet for enterprise key management * Sophisticated chain reorganization handling and immediate finality from ZK rollup architecture. ### Strengths * Production-ready with mature ZK technology and enterprise compliance features * Advanced cryptography using UltraPlonk proofs eliminating trusted setup requirements * Built-in X509 certificate validation and selective disclosure for regulatory compliance * Immediate finality from pure ZK rollup architecture (no optimistic challenge periods) ### Risks and open questions * Extremely high compute requirements (144 cores, 750GB RAM) limit proposer decentralization * Complex infrastructure requirements may limit deployment scenarios * Limited composability compared to general-purpose privacy L2s ### Links * [Nightfall v4 GitHub](https://github.com/EYBlockchain/nightfall%5F4%5FCE) ## Starlight ### What it is Starlight is an open-source transpiler that converts standard Solidity smart contracts into zero-knowledge applications (zApps). Developers annotate Solidity code with privacy decorators (a superset called "Zolidity"), and the compiler generates ZK circuits, on-chain verifier contracts, and JavaScript orchestration code; enabling private business logic on public Ethereum without requiring deep cryptographic expertise. ### Fits with patterns * [Shielded ERC-20 Transfers](/patterns/pattern-shielding/): enables building shielding-type circuits from Solidity, not a drop-in shielded pool * [Private Shared State (co-SNARKs)](/patterns/pattern-private-shared-state-cosnark/): two-party shared secret commitments via `sharedSecret` decorator * [Shielding](/patterns/pattern-shielding/): generated contracts deploy commitment pools with nullifier tracking on L1 ### Not a substitute for * **Private transaction rollups:** Starlight privatises business logic at the contract level but does not provide network-level transaction privacy or a private execution environment (see [Nightfall v4](#nightfall-v4) or [Aztec](/vendors/aztec/)) * **Production-grade ZK infrastructure:** output zApps use Groth16 with known malleability caveats; no security audit has been completed; a trusted setup is required per circuit * **Regulatory disclosure infrastructure:** no built-in viewing keys, selective disclosure, or compliance hooks; institutions must layer these separately (see [Selective Disclosure (Viewing Keys + Zero-Knowledge Proofs)](/patterns/pattern-regulatory-disclosure-keys-proofs/)) * **Full Solidity feature parity:** not all Solidity syntax transpiles; complex control flow, certain if-statement patterns, and loops may not be supported ### Architecture Developers write `.zol` files (Solidity + decorators: `secret`, `known`/`unknown`, `encrypt`, `sharedSecret`, `re-initialisable`) and run `zappify`. The transpiler parses the decorated AST via `solc`, then generates: * **ZoKrates circuits:** (`.zok`) for zero-knowledge proof generation (Groth16) * **Solidity verifier contracts:** (`.sol`) for on-chain proof verification and commitment management Secret state lives on-chain as cryptographic hash commitments; pre-image data stays local with the owner. Nullifiers prevent double-spending; Merkle trees provide membership proofs. ### Privacy domains * **Single-party private state:** secret variables owned by one party; on-chain commitments hide values from all others * **Two-party shared secrets:** `sharedSecret` decorator enables bilateral state (e.g. atomic swaps) where both parties share a derived key * **No native selective disclosure:** Starlight does not provide viewing keys or regulator access mechanisms at the compiler level ### Enterprise demand and use cases * **B2B contract management:** multi-party business agreements where logic must be shared but commercial terms remain confidential (procurement, supply-chain) * **Inventory and payment management:** large-scale asset tracking with privacy from competitors, combined with Nightfall for token transfers * **Prototyping and education:** lowest-friction path to demonstrating ZK-private business logic for organisations evaluating privacy on Ethereum * **Target segment:** organisations migrating complex B2B agreements from private EDI systems to public Ethereum; Solidity-proficient teams wanting to explore ZK without circuit expertise ### Technical details * **Proof system**: Groth16 (via ZoKrates); requires per-circuit trusted setup * **Circuit language**: ZoKrates DSL (generated, not hand-written) * **State model**: Cryptographic hash commitments; nullifiers for spend tracking; Merkle tree for membership proofs ### Strengths * **Low barrier to entry:** Solidity developers add privacy via decorators without learning circuit DSLs; contrast with Noir/Circom which require new languages * **End-to-end code generation:** single `zappify` command produces circuits, contracts, and orchestration; reduces manual wiring errors * **Public domain:** no licensing constraints; enterprises can fork and customise freely ### Risks and open questions * **No security audit:** EY explicitly warns against use for material-value transactions; the project is labelled "experimental prototype still under development" * **Trusted setup per circuit:** each generated circuit requires a separate Groth16 trusted setup ceremony; business logic changes require new ceremonies and state migration with no documented upgrade path * **JavaScript integer precision:** uint256 values silently lose precision if not handled with BigInt; for 18-decimal tokens this caps correct handling at \~9,007 tokens * **Limited Solidity coverage:** not all Solidity syntax transpiles; complex conditionals, loops, and certain patterns are unsupported (see [STATUS.md](https://github.com/EYBlockchain/starlight/blob/master/doc/STATUS.md)) * **No native regulatory disclosure:** no built-in viewing keys, selective disclosure, or compliance screening hooks; institutions must build or source these separately ### Links * [GitHub Repository](https://github.com/EYBlockchain/starlight) * [Starlight Gitbook Documentation](https://starlight-3.gitbook.io/starlight) * [EY Blockchain Technology Overview](https://blockchain.ey.com/technology) * [EY Press Release: Starlight Beta (Feb 2023)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ey-contributes-the-beta-version-of-zero-knowledge-proof-compiler-starlight-to-the-public-domain-to-enable-secure-private-business-logic-on-ethereum-301745741.html) * [ETHGlobal Talk: Intro to Starlight](https://ethglobal.com/talks/ey-intro-to-starlight-siv8b) * [Technical Writeup (WRITEUP.md)](https://github.com/EYBlockchain/starlight/blob/master/doc/WRITEUP.md) Used in [ Private Transaction Broadcasting Private Rollups ](/approaches/approach-private-broadcasting/#private-rollups)[ White-Label Infrastructure Deployment Consortium Deployment ](/approaches/approach-white-label-deployment/#consortium-deployment) #### Referenced by approaches1 * [Private Transaction Broadcasting](/approaches/approach-private-broadcasting/) building blocks1 * [ZK Proof Systems](/patterns/pattern-zk-proof-systems/) × ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://ethsystems.org/#organization","name":"EthSystems","url":"https://ethsystems.org/","logo":"https://ethsystems.org/icon-maskable.png","sameAs":["https://x.com/eth_systems","https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethsystems/","https://github.com/ethsystems"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://ethsystems.org/#website","url":"https://ethsystems.org/","name":"EthSystems","publisher":{"@id":"https://ethsystems.org/#organization"}}]} ```