Course Introduction

Zero Knowledge Proofs are often described as magical. They allow someone to prove that a statement is true without revealing the information that makes it true. For a long time, this idea lived mostly in academic papers and specialist circles. Today, it is becoming a practical foundation for privacy, scalability, and trust in digital systems.

This short course offers a gentle but serious introduction to Zero Knowledge. It is designed for people who are curious about how modern cryptography changes the way trust works online without requiring a background in mathematics or programming. In about 15 minutes of reading, you’ll build a clear intuition for what Zero Knowledge is, why it matters, how it works at a high level, and where it is already being used in the real world.

The course is based on A Friendly Introduction to Zero Knowledge and is created in collaboration with Oskar Thorén - a researcher and engineer working at the intersection of cryptography, privacy, and decentralized systems. Oskar has led and contributed to multiple public-good projects in the Ethereum ecosystem, including Logos, Waku & Vac. He is currently part of the Ethereum Foundation, where he focuses on bringing privacy-preserving technologies to real-world use cases. This course is facilitated by Peter Farbey from Web3Privacy Now.

Oskar speaking at Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress 2 in Buenos Aires

Rather than teaching formulas or tools, this course focuses on understanding. It is meant to be read slowly, thought about carefully, and used as a foundation for deeper exploration whether you’re interested in privacy, Web3, cryptography, or the future of trust online.

Let's roll!