Ernst & Young, a top accounting firm, has launched a cutting-edge enterprise contract management service that leverages blockchain technology. The service, known as OpsChain Contract Manager, enables clients to securely store contracts on a public blockchain while safeguarding the confidentiality of business information using zero-knowledge circuits. OpsChain is promoted as running on the Ethereum platform, but it actually operates on Polygon’s proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain.
Paul Brody, the head of EY’s blockchain initiatives, emphasizes the significance of this distinction, as EY plans to eventually shift the underlying technology to Ethereum’s mainnet and ultimately to layer 3 in an upcoming upgrade. Brody disclosed that while Nightfall was initially developed on Ethereum and deployed on its test network, EY’s industrial clients have been attracted to Polygon due to its lower transaction costs. He elaborated on how Polygon’s network offers more advantages compared to Ethereum.
Despite Polygon’s appeal in terms of lower transaction costs for EY’s industrial clients, Brody, who played a key role in IBM’s first blockchain initiative, believes that the future of blockchain for business lies in public blockchains like Ethereum.
The idea of utilizing blockchain technology for business purposes is not new. In the early stages of Bitcoin and blockchain development, groups like the Distributed Ledger Group emerged to explore how businesses could benefit from distributed ledger technology, often opting for private blockchains. Brody criticizes private blockchains for their inability to provide true privacy, highlighting that all participants can view all transactions, potentially exposing sensitive business data.
EY has also created Starlight, a zero-knowledge compiler that employs hashing techniques to enhance privacy for existing smart contracts. This strategy enables businesses to manage contracts more securely and transparently, leveraging the infrastructure on public blockchains to reduce deployment costs.