Chainway launches Proof of Innocence protocol for Tornado Cash users Chainway launches Proof of Innocence protocol for Tornado Cash users
Chainway's Proof of Innocence protocol helps honest users maintain anonymity while proving funds legitimacy.
1 min read
Updated: Jan. 24, 2023 at 9:18 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Web3 venture builder Chainway launched a new protocol called “Proof of Innocence” on Jan. 18, which allows Tornado Cash (TORN) users to benefit from extra anonymity while proving that their funds are not stolen.
With this protocol, Tornado Cash users are able to prove that their funds didn’t come from any sanctioned or blacklisted addresses without revealing their identity.
The announcement post summarizes the function of the protocol by stating:
“The “Proof of Innocence” protocol adds an additional layer to this process by allowing users to prove that their commitment is not in a given list of commitments. This helps to ensure that the user is not a hacker or other bad actor who has been sanctioned or flagged for illegal activities.”
How it works
According to Chainway’s announcement blog post, users can initiate this protocol when they want to withdraw funds from Tornado Cash.
Users can provide zero-knowledge proof showing that the funds they wish to withdraw are securely held within Tornado Cash. The zero-knowledge proof excludes the original address of the users’ funds using a Merkle-tree data structure, which allows the tracking of the inputting address without revealing the holders’ identity.
The protocol is accessible on GitHub and currently only works with Tornado Cash.
Posted In: Adoption, Technology
Author 
Zeynep Geylan
Zeynep is an academic who turned to crypto in 2018. Originating in social sciences, she is especially interested in the social impact of blockchain and cryptocurrencies and strongly believes in their transmuting power.
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Tornado Cash is a decentralized, non-custodial privacy solution built on Ethereum.