Evice Pallets (PQC & ZK-Aggregation)

[syafiqeil]

The Polkadot ecosystem faces two fundamental future challenges: (1) the long-term security threat from quantum computing, and (2) the need for efficient on-chain ZK-Rollup verification for Layer 2 scalability.

Our project aims to solve both of these problems by providing two modular Substrate pallets as public goods for the entire ecosystem:

1. pallet-pqc (Post-Quantum Security): A module that integrates Quantum-Resistant Cryptography (Dilithium, a NIST standard) into Substrate. This will allow any parachain to adopt post-quantum signatures for long-term asset security.
2. pallet-zk-aggregation (L2-Rollup Verification): A high-performance Groth16 verification module optimized for proof aggregation. This will enable any parachain to act as a highly-efficient L2-Rollup settlement layer, drastically reducing on-chain verification costs.

We have already proven the technical feasibility of both advanced components in our standalone L1/L2 reference implementation, Evice-Bockchain-Aegis. That repository (now public) demonstrates full-featured, working PQC and ZK-Aggregation within a complete PoS system.

This grant is to extract, polish, and deliver this proven technology as production-quality pallets for use by all Substrate developers.

Grant level

• Level 1: Up to $10,000, 2 approvals
• Level 2: Up to $30,000, 3 approvals
• Level 3: Unlimited, 5 approvals (for >$100k: Web3 Foundation Council approval)

Application Checklist

• The application template has been copied and aptly renamed (evice-blockchain.md).
• I have read the application guidelines.
• Payment details have been provided (Polkadot AssetHub (USDC & DOT) address in the application and bank details via email, if applicable).
• I understand that an agreed upon percentage of each milestone will be paid in vested DOT, to the Polkadot address listed in the application.
• I am aware that, in order to receive a grant, I (and the entity I represent) have to successfully complete a KYC/KYB check.
• The software delivered for this grant will be released under an open-source license specified in the application.
• The initial PR contains only one commit (squash and force-push if needed).
• The grant will only be announced once the first milestone has been accepted (see the announcement guidelines).
• I prefer the discussion of this application to take place in a private Element/Matrix channel. My username is: @_______:matrix.org (change the homeserver if you use a different one)

[github-actions]

CLA Assistant Lite bot All contributors have signed the CLA ✍️ ✅

[syafiqeil]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.

[semuelle]

Thanks for the application, @syafiqeil. A few issues:

• Please stick to our application template, most notably the default deliverables per milestone.
• We will need evidence of experience with all the technologies and concepts mentioned in this application (WASM, zk rollups, etc.) and ideally of building and maintaining open source projects.
• Please be more specific how this projects relates to Polkadot.

[syafiqeil]

Hi @semuelle

Thank you very much for your valuable and helpful feedback. We truly appreciate the time you took to review our proposal.

We have taken immediate action based on your points:

1. Proof of Experience & Open-Source Commitment:
   You were absolutely right. To demonstrate our commitment to open source and provide concrete evidence of our technical expertise, we have made our core evice-blockchain repository public under the Apache 2.0 license, as promised (you can view it here: https://github.com/syafiqeil/Evice-Blockchain-Aegis). The repository now includes our complete L1/L2 reference implementation, including functional PQC modules (src/crypto.rs) and ZK-Aggregation (src/l2_aggregation.rs).

2. Relevance to Polkadot & Template Alignment:
   We fully understand that W3F’s focus is on public goods that directly benefit the ecosystem. You were right, our initial proposal was not sufficiently clear on this aspect.
   We have therefore made significant updates to our proposal (see the latest commit on evice-blockchain.md). While our long-term vision is to launch Evice as a parachain, we also understand that the most valuable first step is to contribute our core technologies as modular pallets.
   The revised proposal now focuses on delivering two primary public goods:
   pallet-pqc for post-quantum security, and pallet-zk-aggregation for ZK-Rollup verification. Our roadmap and milestones have been completely restructured to reflect these concrete, Substrate-focused deliverables.

We believe these changes directly address your concerns and align our project with the mission of W3F.
Thank you once again for your guidance, and we look forward to any further feedback you may have.

[syafiqeil]

Hi @semuelle,

Just a brief follow-up, I have now also updated this Pull Request's main description to ensure it is fully consistent with the revised evice-blockchain.md proposal file.

All requested changes (both in the file and the PR description) should now be complete. We are looking forward to your re-review when you have a moment.