Withdraw ₳700,000 for ZK Bridge administered by Intersect
This treasury withdrawal funds **ZK Bridge** which will provide the following services: Our proposal is building a ZK bridge for Cardano, which we will deploy on the Cardano testnet. As part of this initiative, we will define a communication protocol for the bridge, provide the full source code of the smart contracts on the Cardano side, and produce comprehensive technical documentation detailing the protocol between Cardano and any other isomorphic blockchain. We will provide a circuit that enables a relayer to generate the ZK proof that a locking transaction was successfully added to the chain, which can then be verified on the receiving blockchain. This way, any blockchain will be able to implement a ZK bridge with Cardano, leveraging its newly added capability to generate such proofs. This allows for a variety of uses, such as moving assets outside Cardano just by providing the proof that they've locked an equivalent amount in the Cardano Smart Contract. The resulting bridge can serve as a generic framework for interoperability between Cardano and any other blockchain willing to implement the corresponding counterpart contracts. Furthermore, we will implement contracts in Aiken to mint assets on a Cardano-like (isomorphic) blockchain and deploy them on the Cardano testnet, providing a fully functional proof of concept. These building blocks will enable developers to create bridges between Cardano and other chains with minimal additional effort. This Treasury Withdrawal is submitted by Intersect on behalf of the vendor. The following sections; Abstract, Motivation, Rationale and Vendor Profile have been sourced from the approved proposal submitted by the Vendor as part of the Intersect budget process. This treasury withdrawal funds one of 39 proposals to give effect to the approved budget info action for ₳275,269,340, administered by Intersect via gov_action1u9x73kwufaxa70lfy59g4ynwyrcsaxdcd0gxzzmh67s9fxq4j8hqqk2phgh. The information provided herein is intended to fulfill the spirit of the constitutional requirement for a treasury withdrawal info action by also providing the details of the proposed solution, alignment to the budget, and amount to be withdrawn from the Cardano Treasury.
Reasoning
Written after the vote was cast
What this asks for, and from whom
700,000 ADA for a ZK bridge, administered by Intersect.
What would have to be true for this to be a good use of treasury funds
Interoperability is one of my core beliefs about long-term survival. Chains that cannot move value and messages to other chains become islands, and islands lose. Zero knowledge bridging is among the more defensible approaches to that problem.
What specifically concerns me
This was part of the 2025 Intersect budget slate, which I voted as a slate. I am saying that plainly rather than pretending each line got its own week of deliberation. The slate came through a community budget process with a support threshold before it ever reached the chain, and my judgment was that the process outcome deserved backing in Cardano's first real treasury cycle. Bridges are also where crypto suffers its largest losses. Any bridge work has to be audited to a standard well beyond ordinary application code.
What I am asking of the proposer if this passes
It was enacted. Publish audits before any mainnet value flows. On bridges, security reporting is not optional and speed is not a virtue.