MACI (Minimal Anti-Collusion Infrastructure)

Definition

MACI (Minimal Anti-Collusion Infrastructure) is a privacy-focused Ethereum application that provides private and collusion-resistant on-chain voting. Its architecture relies on several cryptographic primitives including:

• Elliptic Curves: MACI uses the Baby Jubjub elliptic curve for cryptographic operations.

• Key Pairs: Private keys are generated using cryptographically secure methods and public keys are points on the Baby Jubjub curve.

• Message Signing: Uses Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm (EdDSA) for signing messages.

• Hash Functions: Employs the Poseidon hash function optimized for zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs and SHA256 for input compression.

• Message Encryption: Uses Poseidon in DuplexSponge mode and Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) for shared key generation to encrypt votes so that only the coordinator and message sender can decrypt them.

• Merkle Trees: Uses quinary Merkle trees (5 leaves per node) with Poseidon hashes for efficient computation in smart contracts.

MACI thus employs advanced cryptographic primitives like elliptic curve cryptography, zero-knowledge friendly hash functions, and encryption schemes specifically tailored for Ethereum smart contract use to enable secure, private, and tamper-resistant on-chain voting.maci.pse+1

1. https://maci.pse.dev/docs/v1.2/primitives
2. https://maci.pse.dev/docs/v1.2/introduction
3. https://github.com/privacy-scaling-explorations/maci
4. https://github.com/privacy-scaling-explorations/maci/discussions/847
5. https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2024/10/29/futures6.html
6. https://archive.devcon.org/devcon-7/maci-why-do-we-need-private-voting-and-what-are-we-up-to/
7. https://ethglobal.com/events/circuitbreaker/prizes/privacy-scaling-explorations
8. https://x.com/PrivacyEthereum
9. https://projects.ethberlin.org/submissions/376/
10. https://www.youtube.com/@PrivacyEthereum/videos