zkTLS is an Insurgent Technology

Last week, a Telegram message caught our eye: “zkTLS is fundamentally an insurgent technology.” For over a year, we’ve been sounding the alarm—backed by investments—about the sea change coming to the consumer Internet from this cryptographic primitive. zkTLS means any data made available to users is also available to third‑party developers. It subverts walled gardens and restores user agency.

If this is your first exposure to zkTLS, start with explainers from TLSNotary, DECO, Telah VC, Pavel Paramonov, Shoal Research, and EV3 Research; a useful mental model is a general‑purpose Plaid that verifies user account information and activity across the Internet, not just banks.

Insurgencies on the Internet

Journalist Richard Engel summarizes insurgencies as a mix of common ingredients—legitimate grievance, an unyielding state, a quorum of angry people, and access to weapons. In the online economy, zkTLS infrastructure providers (e.g., Opacity) are the weapons manufacturers: they equip users to take back control of their data, regardless of what the “state” (incumbent platforms) wants.

We believe zkTLS is the biggest unlock since self‑custody wallets (’09). The consumer landscape in 2025 is ripe for user‑led insurgencies against platforms that tax coordination with high take‑rates.

A Parable: The Kingdom of DoorDash

A fisherman labors day and night, but must sell in the King’s town square under the soldiers’ watch. The state controls inspection, reputation, transactions, and takes a mandatory 30% tax. When special demand appears (10 lbs of Mako shark), the state withholds the record‑book, leading to poor matching and wasted deposits. Fishermen consider defecting and self‑organizing—with lower voluntary taxes and equitable profit splits—but can’t coordinate credibly without a public ledger of past catches. zkTLS is that ledger: not stolen scrolls, but user‑provided, verifiable data that levels the field.

What zkTLS Is (and Isn’t)

• Not for data already exposed via APIs (except as a cross‑check).
• Cannot reveal internal data unless the platform shows it to users.

With zkTLS, users can prove what they see. Providers like Opacity don’t force disclosures; they ensure that any data shown to users can be made verifiable for developers (with consent). Security hinges on equivalence: if a platform hides or falsifies mission‑critical fields (e.g., driver earnings), it breaks its own UX.

The Four Buckets of zkTLS Apps

1) Fintech

• Trustless on/off‑ramps: Swap Venmo <→ stablecoins using zk proofs of transfer; liquidity providers earn bps‑level fees.
• Small‑ticket lending: Loans against verified payroll/invoices/refunds/points where fraud is cheaply reduced and non‑repayment risk is reputation‑gated.
• Dynamic trading: Verified copy‑trading and AI vaults that reward users who contribute valuable private data (e.g., real‑time incentives seen by drivers).

2) Marketplaces

Gig‑economy and social platforms are software wrappers around proprietary reputation + transaction graphs. With zkTLS, these moats can be replicated.

• Verticalized: Long rides, long stays, repeat food delivery—use zkTLS to tailor incentives and lower take‑rates.
• Horizontal (mass‑market): Identify power users (top 1–20%) and grant outsized ownership via tokens to rebuild the network around them.

3) Advertising Networks

Ads turn attention into intent via attribution. zkTLS lets users selectively share data to improve outcomes while preserving privacy.

• On closed social: Daisy verifies cross‑boosting and pays out instantly for incremental engagement.
• On open social: Uno enriches Farcaster profiles and feeds; zkTLS improves relevance.
• From scratch: EarnOS runs verified “quests” where users engage brands for rewards, replacing interruptive ads with intentful tasks.

4) Insurgent Infrastructure

• Anonymous union organizing and whistleblowing with verifiable credentials.
• Citizen election tracking under authoritarian regimes.
• Capital‑controls‑resistant remittances.
• Estate tools, insider‑intel bounties, activist defense funds with zkTLS‑based triggers.

References

• Basche on zkTLS as insurgent tech — tweet
• TLSNotary — explainer; DECO — paper; Telah VC — overview; Paramonov — thread; Shoal — essay.
• Opacity Network deep‑dive — Paragraph · opacity.network
• Uber Drivers API — docs
• Gig‑economy statistics — Upwork
• zkP2P — swap · liquidity
• P2P.me — site · FAQ
• Axal (verifiable inference) — ax.al
• Nosh — noshdelivery.co · Swifey — X · Braintrust — site · DTravel — site · Petastic — site
• EarnOS — earnos.io · Uno — uno.fun · Daisy — daisypay.io
• AP News (elections example) — AP

Disclosure

This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Projections and estimates are speculative and subject to change.

If you’re building with zkTLS, we’d love to chat: escape velocity at ev3 dot xyz.