Research corpus PrivacyBLC-STUDY-0110

Semaphore: Zero-Knowledge Signaling on Ethereum

A member of a group proves they are some member, and posts a signal, without showing which member. A nullifier stops the same member signalling twice in the same context. The 2020 proposal is a base layer for voting and similar uses. It is not itself a mixer, and later versions changed the circuits.

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Record

Authors: Kobi Gurkan, Koh Wei Jie and Barry Whitehat
Date: 2020
Publisher: Kobi Gurkan, Koh Wei Jie and Barry Whitehat
Version: Source cited by the 2020 study. The study is the reading. This page does not add a second essay.
Document ID: BLC-STUDY-0110
DOI: None recorded
Last reviewed: 1 October 2026
Licence: No licence recorded. Rights status under review.

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Direct answer

Where to read

Official source — Semaphore proposal, 2020
Blockchain Lab study, the canonical readingOriginal commentary. Not a transcription of the paper.

Metadata and commentary only. The reading is the study page.

Full text

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What changed

The study separates the text from later network behaviour. This bibliographic page does not repeat that essay.

Relationships

Canonical readingSemaphore study
Related paperZerocoin
Related paperGroth16
Related paperZexe

Cite this record

These citations point at the source document. They are not a licence to copy it.

Author–date

Gurkan, K., Jie, K. W., & Whitehat, B. (2020). Semaphore: Zero-Knowledge Signaling on Ethereum. Kobi Gurkan, Koh Wei Jie and Barry Whitehat. https://semaphore.pse.dev/whitepaper-v1.pdf

BibTeX

@techreport{semaphore2020,
  title = {Semaphore: Zero-Knowledge Signaling on Ethereum},
  author = {Kobi Gurkan, Koh Wei Jie and Barry Whitehat},
  year = {2020},
  institution = {Kobi Gurkan, Koh Wei Jie and Barry Whitehat},
  url = {https://semaphore.pse.dev/whitepaper-v1.pdf},
  note = {Rights status: Official external source only. Blockchain Lab record: https://blockchainlab.com/research/corpus/papers/semaphore}
}

RIS

TY  - RPRT
TI  - Semaphore: Zero-Knowledge Signaling on Ethereum
AU  - Kobi Gurkan
AU  - Koh Wei Jie
AU  - Barry Whitehat
PY  - 2020
PB  - Kobi Gurkan, Koh Wei Jie and Barry Whitehat
UR  - https://semaphore.pse.dev/whitepaper-v1.pdf
N1  - Rights status: Official external source only
ER  -

CSL-JSON

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  {
    "type": "report",
    "id": "BLC-STUDY-0110",
    "title": "Semaphore: Zero-Knowledge Signaling on Ethereum",
    "author": [
      {
        "literal": "Kobi Gurkan"
      },
      {
        "literal": "Koh Wei Jie"
      },
      {
        "literal": "Barry Whitehat"
      }
    ],
    "issued": {
      "date-parts": [
        [
          2020
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    "publisher": "Kobi Gurkan, Koh Wei Jie and Barry Whitehat",
    "URL": "https://semaphore.pse.dev/whitepaper-v1.pdf",
    "note": "Rights status: Official external source only. Not a licence to republish the paper."
  }
]

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Rights record

Source status: Official source
Use status: Metadata and commentary only. The reading is the study page.
Rights: Official external source only
Training and retrieval: Not permitted from this site. There is no rights-cleared full text to retrieve or to train on.

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