faq.md 3.8 KB
Frequently Asked Questions
What is DarkFi?
DarkFi is an ecosystem of anonymous applications. It consists of a layer 1
blockchain, a communications service, and a task management service. The
communications service darkirc is an anonymous IRC server. tau is a task
management app that gives users the ability to collaborate with others including
assigning and syncing tasks across different workspaces. DarkFi is built
with strong privacy, censorship-resistance, and free (as in freedom) and open
source software philosophy as its guiding design principles.
How is the DarkFi blockchain different than other privacy claiming projects?
Note: Each network's design choices and architecture widely varies. This is only to point out general design differences between DarkFi and others.
DarkFi is a proof-of-work layer 1 blockchain and ecosystem. DarkFi ZK circuits are programmed in ZKAS (ZK Assembly) and then executed in the zkVM to generate proofs on-chain. DarkFi uses Halo 2 for its proving system, which requires no trusted setup. Since DarkFi is an L1, all transactions are executed directly by the network.
Bitcoin is a transparent blockchain where people execute coin transfers between participants. Similarly, Monero is also a blockchain where people transfer coins between participants, but they do can do it in a private manner. Ethereum is a transparent blockchain, where people can execute custom smart contracts, as well as transfer coins. DarkFi aims to achieve a similar concept, but instead of transparency, everything is built in a privacy first manner. Let's look at a few other similar projects within the ecosystem.
Aztec Network is an Ethereum layer 2 zk-rollup, and uses their own domain specific language, Noir. Aztec uses PLONK as its proving system, which requires a trusted setup. Transactions on Aztec are added to the rollup block by network sequencers to settle on the Ethereum L1.
Aleo is a proof-of-stake layer 1 blockchain that focuses on building ZK dApps. Aleo required a trusted setup for its foundational zk-proofs. Aleo uses their domain specific language, Leo. Transactions are submitted to the Aleo network via snarkOS.
Namada is a proof-of-stake layer 1 blockchain that aims to build an interchain platform for shielded transfers of arbitrary assets. Namada's natively built with inter-operability for IBC-chains. There is the ability to shield and unshield transactions. Namada used a trusted setup to generate the random parameters for the MASP circuit (which is an extension of the sapling circuit). Transactions propagate directly to the network and verification is done by "accounts" on-chain.
What type of consensus does DarkFi use?
DarkFi is a proof-of-work layer 1 blockchain, using RandomX. RandomX is optimized for general-purpose CPUs, and is also used by Monero. You can find more information about the DarkFi consensus process here.
How can I chat with DarkFi devs?
Join DarkIRC, our peer-to-peer anonymous implementation of
an IRC server. There are weekly #dev meetings on Mondays.
How can I contribute to the project or build something on top of DarkFi?
You can visit here
and ask any questions related to development in the #dev darkirc channel. You
can also familiarize yourself with our docs by
starting here.
Where should I go if I'm having network connectivity issues with DarkFi?
If you are having trouble connecting DarkFi applications, please refer to network troubleshooting.
How can I run the testnet?
Follow the testnet guide.
How can I run my DarkFi nodes over Tor?
You can setup a Tor enabled node here.