ZK-HADES

ZK-HADES (Hybrid Acyclic Decentralized Encrypted Settlement) is an enterprise-grade settlement protocol designed for regulated decentralized finance (RegDeFi) and institutional applications.

This repository contains the proof of concept for the core Rust cryptographic primitives, WebAssembly (WASM) bindings, and a React-based frontend demonstration interface.

Live Demo: https://zkhades.com

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Overview

ZK-HADES provides the infrastructure for high-throughput, privacy-preserving financial settlements that require instant finality and post-quantum security. It is engineered to bridge the gap between traditional banking systems and decentralized ledgers using zero-knowledge proofs and post quantum cryptography.

Core Value Propositions

• Hybrid Architecture: Enables atomic settlement between permissioned banking chains and public ledgers.
• Post-Quantum Security: Integrates NIST Level 3 compliant signatures (Dilithium-3).
• Performance: Optimized for small-field arithmetic (Mersenne-31) to support rapid proof generation on standard hardware.
• Regulatory Compliance: Designed for verifiable privacy, allowing for selective disclosure and auditability.

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Repository Structure

This monorepo is organized into three primary components:

Directory	Description
/zk-hades	Core Rust Crate. Contains the tartarus and charon modules implementing the cryptographic primitives (Monolith over Mersenne-31).
/zk-hades-wasm	WASM Bindings. The glue code that compiles the Rust logic into WebAssembly for use in browser environments.
/zk-hades-demos	Frontend Interface. A React/Vite application that demonstrates the hashing, signing, and settlement flows visually.

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Cryptographic Stack

ZK-HADES utilizes a suite of algorithms optimized for end-user device post quantum cryptography computations.

1. Arithmetic Backend

The system operates over the Mersenne-31 prime field ($p = 2^{31} - 1$). This fits natively within 32-bit CPU/GPU registers, offering superior performance compared to traditional 256-bit elliptic curve fields.

2. Permutation Engine

Located in zk-hades/src/tartarus.rs.

• Algorithm: Monolith.
• Role: A lookup-based permutation optimized for small fields. It replaces traditional heavy S-boxes with efficient table lookups, significantly reducing proving overhead.

3. Identity & Signing Layer: Charon

Location: zk-hades-wasm/src/charon.rs

• Algorithm: Dilithium-3 (NIST Level 3).
• Function: Implements the Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) layer for secure authentication.
• Role: Identity Management.
  • Key Generation: Handles the creation of post-quantum keypairs.
  • Signing Operations: Signs settlement instructions and state transitions to ensure non-repudiation.
  • Access Control: Validates user permissions before interacting with the core settlement engine.

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Rust: Latest stable version (rustup update)
• Node.js: v18+ (for the frontend)
• wasm-pack: For building the Wasm target (cargo install wasm-pack)

1. Building the Core (Rust)

Navigate to the crate directory to run tests and build the library.

cd zk-hades
cargo test
cargo build --release