# Privacy Matters, 40 By [Automata Network](https://paragraph.com/@automata-network) · 2024-04-18 --- gm, readers. At [Automata](https://www.ata.network/) we work on protecting privacy and fairness. And in this newsletter, we find more reasons to talk about it. Explore headlines and catch up on the biggest crypto news in Web3 privacy. **This week:** * a16z [shares](https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/zero-knowledge-summit-zksummit-2024-field-notes/) field notes from ZK Summit 2024 * Worldcoin [announces](https://www.theblock.co/post/289420/worldcoin-to-have-its-own-layer-2-blockchain-called-world-chain) its own Layer-2, World Chain * Railgun token (RAIL) [surges](https://www.theblock.co/post/288358/railgun-price-jumps-more-than-140-in-a-day-following-vitalik-buterins-support) as Vitalik Buterin shows supports for its privacy pools protocol in an X post * FLock [partners](https://cryptoslate.com/flock-io-net-partner-to-train-decentralized-ai-models-to-reduce-centralized-privacy-risk/) with IO.Net to bolster privacy-focused decentralized AI training * MIT and Deutsche Bundesbank [collaborate](https://cointelegraph.com/news/mit-german-central-bank-research-cbdc-privacy-new-project) on researching privacy in CBDCs * RBA study [finds](https://cointelegraph.com/news/australians-wouldnt-value-retail-cbdc-privacy-safety-rba) limited public support for retail CBDC due to privacy and safety concerns **Zooming into ZK:** * L2O Consortium [launches](https://twitter.com/L2Ordinals/status/1778453840775553485) to set standards for zk-rollups, zkVMs, or zkEVMs to be trustlessly deployed on Bitcoin * Masa [rolls out](https://medium.com/masa-finance/masa-network-masa-token-are-now-live-85dee7ebfd79) Mainnet for AI data network and marketplace * Scroll [introduces](https://x.com/Scroll_ZKP/status/1780222815423381611) blobs with the Bernoulli Upgrade * RISC Zero [announces](https://twitter.com/RiscZero/status/1780321429361500649) the launch of its general-purpose R0 zkVM * Nebra [secures](https://www.theblock.co/post/288576/nebra-seed-round-zkp) $4.5M in seed funding for ZKP tech, co-led by Nascent and Bankless * Ernst & Young [adopts](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ernst-young-zk-proofs-ethereum-opschain-automate-business-contracts) Ethereum with ZK-Proofs for automated contract management * Nebra [secures](https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/04/11/protocol-village/?_gl=1*1rulcx7*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTQ4Nzk0NzEyNC4xNzEzNDMwMTU0*_ga_VM3STRYVN8*MTcxMzQzMDE1My4xLjEuMTcxMzQzMDI3My4wLjAuMA..) $4.5M funding for 'Universal Proof Aggregation' protocol development * Polyhedra and Google Cloud [collaborate](https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/04/11/protocol-village/?_gl=1*1rulcx7*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTQ4Nzk0NzEyNC4xNzEzNDMwMTU0*_ga_VM3STRYVN8*MTcxMzQzMDE1My4xLjEuMTcxMzQzMDI3My4wLjAuMA..) to offer 'ZK-as-a-Service' with 'Proof Cloud’ [Subscribe](null) **We dive into the details, so you don’t have to:** Ernst & Young (EY) introduces EY OpsChain Contract Manager (OCM), an Ethereum-based solution leveraging zero-knowledge proofs to streamline complex contract execution for private businesses. This Ethereum-powered platform facilitates various agreements, including purchase contracts, rate cards, volume discounts, rebates, and strike prices, ensuring timely, confidential, and cost-effective transactions. EY's choice of Ethereum over a private network aims to maintain fairness between parties and safeguard sensitive business data. Polyhedra Network and Google Cloud join forces to enable developers with zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs through the "Proof Cloud" platform. Utilizing the Blockchain Node Engine, the partnership aims to streamline ZK workloads for blockchain applications. This collaboration could pave the way for advancements in privacy-preserving machine learning, leveraging Google Cloud's Vertex AI for enhanced features in ZK machine learning applications. To date, Polyhedra's Proof Cloud has successfully completed over 40 million ZK proof tasks, including support for zkBridge. [![User Avatar](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/bba704e00ad0c5ef1612c2de160792470cc802ace8a256c68eb6b629ee2880a5.jpg)](https://twitter.com/PolyhedraZK) [Polyhedra](https://twitter.com/PolyhedraZK) [@PolyhedraZK](https://twitter.com/PolyhedraZK) [![Twitter Logo](https://paragraph.com/editor/twitter/logo.png)](https://twitter.com/PolyhedraZK/status/1780507485239177485) Big news! [@PolyhedraZK](https://twitter.com/PolyhedraZK) & [@googlecloud](https://twitter.com/googlecloud) are joining forces to bring ZK proofs to developers. With the power of the Blockchain Node Engine, we're streamlining ZK workloads for blockchain operations. Coupled with our Proof Cloud, we're set to revolutionize ZK proof generation. [![Like Icon](https://paragraph.com/editor/twitter/heart.png) 350](https://twitter.com/PolyhedraZK/status/1780507485239177485)[ 3:03 AM • Apr 17, 2024 ](https://twitter.com/PolyhedraZK/status/1780507485239177485) QED Protocol, in collaboration with StarkWare, zkLink, Mina Protocol, and O(1) Labs, announces the formation of the L2O Consortium. This consortium aims to enhance Bitcoin's native security, scalability, and interoperability by developing reference implementations, tools, and resources for decentralized applications (dApps) and Layer-2 solutions. The initiative seeks to enable trustless interoperability between applications on Bitcoin, bridging technical gaps with ordinals and zero-knowledge proofs to facilitate smart contract-like functionality. Connect with Automata on both [X (Twitter)](https://ata.ws/twitter) and [Discord](https://ata.ws/discord). This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice or interpreted as investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and you should always do your own research before making any informed decisions when investing or trading. --- *Originally published on [Automata Network](https://paragraph.com/@automata-network/privacy-matters-40)*