Skip to main content

Distributed Nullifiers

Distributed Nullifiers is enabled by TACEO:OPRF. TACEO's production service for computing threshold Oblivious Pseudo-Random Functions (OPRFs).

A nullifier derived from a single secret is only as safe as that secret. TACEO's distributed approach requires a threshold of independent MPC nodes to cooperate before any nullifier can be evaluated, so no single party - including TACEO - can link or deanonymize your users even if secrets are partially compromised. Beyond nullifiers, TACEO:OPRF can serve any use case requiring distributed, verifiable pseudorandomness.

In production for World and zkPassport.

What Problem Does It Solve?​

The Challenge: Traditional privacy systems have single points of failure. If your secret key leaks, attackers can trace your entire history.

The Solution: TACEO:OPRF distributes trust across multiple independent parties. Even if your secret leaks, attackers need to compromise multiple nodes to trace you.

How TACEO:OPRF Works​

TACEO:OPRF allows users to deterministically salt their secrets without ever revealing the secret itself.

Unlike traditional single-server OPRF protocols, TACEO:OPRF is built on a multi-party computation (MPC) design. No single party can evaluate the OPRF on its own. Instead, a threshold of independent nodes must cooperate, providing the familiar trust guarantees of MPC-based systems.

Key Features​

  • Privacy-preserving: Never reveals your secret inputs
  • Threshold security: Requires cooperation of multiple independent nodes
  • ZK-friendly: Designed using zero-knowledge friendly primitives
  • Flexible authorization: Customizable eligibility requirements

Who Should Use It?​

Web3 Protocol Teams​

Building identity systems (like World ID), DeFi protocols, or blockchain applications needing enhanced privacy guarantees.

Privacy Infrastructure Companies​

Developing wallet recovery services, anonymous authentication systems, or privacy-preserving financial services.

Enterprise Developers​

Creating compliance systems, secure collaboration tools, or any application requiring distributed trust assumptions.

Technical Requirements: Comfort with cryptographic concepts, zero-knowledge proofs, and API integration. Ideal for teams already working with blockchain or privacy-focused technologies.

Common Use Cases​

  • Nullifiers for Digital Identity -- threshold security means attackers must compromise both your secret and the MPC threshold before they can trace your identity. Used in ZK identity systems, anonymous voting, and private credentials.
  • Private Revenue Sharing for DeFi -- private referral identifiers let protocols distribute fees without linking wallets to users or referrers. Used in decentralized exchanges and private trading platforms.
  • Private Wallet Recovery -- recover a wallet using familiar identity factors without the recovery service ever seeing your keys. Used in wallet applications and key management systems.

See Use Cases & Examples for detailed walkthroughs of each scenario.

Getting started​

Follow the Quickstart to run your first OPRF computation against the live testnet in minutes.

Underlying service​

The low-level API, authorization modules, and concepts documentation live under TACEO:OPRF in the TACEO Services section.