Investment of $4M in Ligero aimed at creating Ligetron, a speedy zkVM platform
Ligero, a Web3 startup specialising in zero-knowledge proofs, has launched Ligetron, a groundbreaking zkVM platform. This memory-efficient virtual machine is capable of handling 1,000 transactions per second on a single NVIDIA L40S GPU with under 2 GB CPU RAM, making it a game-changer for high-performance, privacy-preserving applications.
According to Muthu Venkitasubramaniam, co-founder, CEO, and CTO of Ligero, existing ZK-SNARKs powering L2 technology are not suitable for true privacy applications due to their cumbersomeness, lack of composability, and inability to run client-side while requiring significant hardware on the server side.
Ligetron addresses these limitations, delivering consistent and scalable performance. The platform is designed to enable developers to implement privacy-preserving, self-sovereign KYC and AML processes, digital identity verification, high-performance zero-knowledge applications, and even become a core component for real-world Bitcoin applications.
KYC/AML Compliance in Web3
Ligetron's capabilities enable seamless, instant, and frictionless compliance verification in Web3, from retail transactions to institutional-level requirements. Advanced tools like zkTLS and zkEmail build on this to unlock richer forms of identity verification.
Digital Identity Verification
Ligetron can handle complex proofs about identity credentials, such as proving age or citizenship status, with strong privacy guarantees. It supports running zero-knowledge proof generation efficiently even on constrained devices, making it practical for real-world use cases like proving eligibility without revealing underlying personal data.
High-Performance Zero-Knowledge Applications
Due to its efficient and small memory footprint, Ligetron can implement complex zk-proofs for transaction validation or application logic at scale, suitable for blockchain or off-chain privacy-preserving computation. This capability allows for broader adoption in decentralised finance (DeFi), confidential transactions, and privacy-enhanced smart contracts.
Bitcoin Infrastructure Ecosystem
Backed by investments from firms focusing on Bitcoin infrastructure, Ligetron is positioned as a core component for real-world Bitcoin applications that require scalability and privacy.
The seed round for Ligetron was co-led by Galaxy Ventures and 1kx, with participation from Franklin Templeton, Nascent, Anagram, Robot Ventures, and Digital Currency Group. The round was structured as a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) with token warrants, valuing Ligero at $20 million. Wei Dai, a research partner at 1kx, has joined Ligero's board of directors as part of the deal.
Ligero plans to use the fresh capital to expand its engineering and business development teams. The development team, led by Muthu Venkitasubramaniam, is working to address the limitations of existing ZK-SNARKs powering L2 technology.
Ligetron's launch paves the way for mobile-based zk proof-powered applications. A browser-based implementation of Ligetron can achieve 100 transactions per second, according to the announcement. The platform can be deployed on various devices, from a Raspberry Pi to an NVIDIA H100.
Muthu Venkitasubramaniam believes that scalable privacy will be crucial for next-gen DeFi, gaming, ML applications, and real-world asset tokenization. He also emphasises that there are plenty of zk-powered L2s, but they are not practical for everyday use due to their lack of composability.
In summary, Ligetron's memory-efficient zkVM makes it suitable for building privacy-preserving, compliant, and scalable applications in Web3, digital identity, finance, and Bitcoin-based systems, especially where performance and data privacy are critical.
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The Ligetron platform, launched by Web3 startup Ligero, is set to revolutionize the news in digital identity verification and finance by enabling seamless, frictionless compliance verification in Web3 for retail transactions and institutional-level requirements.
Ligetron's high-performance zero-knowledge applications, made possible by its efficient and small memory footprint, can broaden the adoption in decentralized finance (DeFi), confidential transactions, and privacy-enhanced smart contracts, ultimately playing a significant role in the future of Bitcoin-based systems where performance and data privacy are critical.
