Vitalik: Diamond iO explores a new 'stealth' protocol paradigm, potentially advancing privacy computing to a new stage.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has released a new paper introducing the novel cryptographic obfuscation technology Diamond iO. Designed to address the extremely low efficiency of traditional indistinguishability obfuscation schemes, the technique enables programs to run while hiding their internal logic and critical data. While traditional iO offers robust privacy protection, its operational cost is so high it is nearly impractical. Diamond iO, however, leverages more aggressive new cryptographic assumptions to boost computational efficiency from "cosmic-scale time" to "planetary-scale time", bringing it closer to real-world applications. Built on technologies including Attribute-Based Encryption (ABE) and Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), Diamond iO encrypts programs such that users can run the encrypted programs and obtain correct outputs without accessing their internal code or hidden keys. It introduces new input encoding mechanisms and conditional decryption methods, reducing computational complexity while keeping program logic hidden. Its core application scenarios include protecting programs containing private keys, enabling secure software licensing, building trustless cryptographic services, and supporting blockchain and AI systems with stronger privacy protections. However, Diamond iO remains in the early stages of research. Its security relies on new cryptographic assumptions such as All-Product LWE and Evasive LWE, and requires further research for validation. Additionally, the technology still faces efficiency challenges including high computational overhead and circuit depth limitations. Researchers note that by optimizing underlying hash functions, improving homomorphic encryption schemes, and lowering security parameter requirements, Diamond iO is poised to become a key direction in advancing practical program obfuscation technology in the future.