Cellow

This project is a privacy-preserving, zero-knowledge-based Lightning Network protocol built on the Yellow Nitrolite standard (ERC-7824). It introduces off-chain state channels where participants maintain their local state and generate zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to verify transitions. When a channel is created, each participant commits their ownership to an incremental Merkle tree. This allows any user to later prove, inside a zk-SNARK circuit, that their balance exists by reconstructing their commitment and verifying the Merkle root enabling trustless, private fund recovery and spending. The system ensures scalability and censorship-resistance while maintaining full user sovereignty over funds without revealing transaction details.

Routing is achieved via a directed acyclic graph (DAG) topology, where the sender locates the optimal path that maximizes the minimum edge capacity a strategy that identifies the highest possible single-transfer amount. Once the route is established, a sequence of zero-knowledge proofs are generated between nodes (e.g., Sender → Binance → OKX → Receiver). Each node produces a ZKP conditional on the others' participation, ensuring atomic settlement. After all proofs are verified, the corresponding channel balances are updated and locked to prevent double-spending. This structure ensures end to end confidentiality, efficient liquidity routing, and verifiable off-chain atomic transfers.

Tech Stack

• Solidity – For smart contract development using the ERC-7824 Yellow Nitrolite standard to manage channel commitments and ownership on-chain.

• Noir – Used to create and verify zero-knowledge proofs for state transitions, channel ownership, and conditional payments.

• TypeScript – Handles off-chain logic and communication between graph nodes in the routing DAG, coordinating ZK proof generation and state synchronization.

https://github.com/UYUYANMARUL/cellow
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1T2VzDyt2LPQXrsK5iqq72eRAj2e77RnHJZO-DGQ6jAo/edit?hl=tr&slide=id.g37c5d2e75a9_2_6