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TACEO:OPRF Overview

TACEO:OPRF is a service on the TACEO network for computing threshold Oblivious Pseudo-Random Functions (OPRFs) in a publicly auditable and provable way.

Development Stage

The TACEO:OPRF Service is currently in beta for public development and testing. For production applications, contact us to discuss deployment options.

What Problem Does It Solve?​

The Challenge: Traditional privacy systems have single points of failure. If your secret key leaks, attackers can trace your entire history.

The Solution: TACEO:OPRF distributes trust across multiple independent parties. Even if your secret leaks, attackers need to compromise multiple nodes to trace you.

How TACEO:OPRF Works​

TACEO:OPRF allows users to deterministically salt their secrets without ever revealing the secret itself.

Unlike traditional single-server OPRF protocols, TACEO:OPRF is built on a multi-party computation (MPC) design. No single party can evaluate the OPRF on its own. Instead, a threshold of independent nodes must cooperate, providing the familiar trust guarantees of MPC-based systems.

Key Features​

  • Privacy-preserving: Never reveals your secret inputs
  • Threshold security: Requires cooperation of multiple independent nodes
  • ZK-friendly: Designed using zero-knowledge friendly primitives
  • Flexible authorization: Customizable eligibility requirements

Who Should Use It?​

Web3 Protocol Teams​

Building identity systems (like World ID), DeFi protocols, or blockchain applications needing enhanced privacy guarantees.

Privacy Infrastructure Companies​

Developing wallet recovery services, anonymous authentication systems, or privacy-preserving financial services.

Enterprise Developers​

Creating compliance systems, secure collaboration tools, or any application requiring distributed trust assumptions.

Technical Requirements: Comfort with cryptographic concepts, zero-knowledge proofs, and API integration. Ideal for teams already working with blockchain or privacy-focused technologies.

Common Use Cases​

Nullifiers for Digital Identity​

Problem: ZK identity systems rely on single secret keys. If leaked, your entire history is exposed.

Solution: TACEO:OPRF adds threshold security. Attackers need both your secret AND to break the MPC threshold to trace your identity.

Used in: ZK Identity systems, anonymous voting, private credentials

Private Revenue Sharing for DeFi​

Problem: DeFi protocols need referral tracking, but current methods surveille all transactions and destroy financial privacy.

Solution: Private referral identifiers via OPRF enable fee distribution without linking wallets to users or referrers.

Used in: Decentralized exchanges, DeFi protocols, private trading platforms

Private Wallet Recovery​

Problem: Seed phrases are a UX disaster. Custodial backup defeats the point of self-custody.

Solution: TACEO:OPRF enables wallet recovery where no one (not even the recovery service) ever sees your keys.

Used in: Wallet applications, key management systems, secure backup solutions

How It Works​

1. Authorization First​

Users must prove (ideally via ZK) that they're eligible to evaluate the OPRF. This could be:

  • Controlling an Ethereum private key
  • Being a member of an authorized set
  • Providing a valid API key
  • Custom authorization logic

2. Threshold Computation​

Multiple independent nodes cooperate to compute the OPRF without revealing:

  • Your secret input and who the user even is
  • The nodes' secret keys
  • The intermediate computation steps

3. Provable Results​

The OPRF evaluation uses ZK-friendly primitives (currently Circom and Noir), so you can prove correct evaluation to third parties without revealing your private inputs.

What You'll Learn​

This documentation will help you:

  • Understand the cryptographic foundations and architecture
  • Integrate TACEO:OPRF into your applications
  • Deploy your own local test environment
  • Implement custom authorization modules

Developer API Access​

We provide a developer API endpoint for experimentation against a live deployment. This consists of three MPC parties operated by TACEO and is intended for development and testing only.

Next Steps​