According to @1HowardWu, when regulators step back, technology must provide trust guarantees, and zero-knowledge proofs are built for this purpose. source: Howard Wu on X (Aug 15, 2025) For traders, this centers the ZK narrative around networks where validity proofs secure computation and privacy, including zkSync (ZK), StarkNet (STRK), and Mina (MINA). source: zkSync official documentation; StarkNet official documentation; Mina Protocol documentation Liquidity, volume, and TVL are standard activity gauges for these ecosystems that traders use to assess participation. source: DeFiLlama data; Electric Capital Developer Report ZK proofs enable mathematical verification without revealing underlying data, supporting trustless settlement without reliance on regulatory intermediaries. source: zkSync official documentation; Mina Protocol documentation