GlossaryAdvanced
Commitment Scheme
A cryptographic method letting someone commit to a chosen value while keeping it hidden, then later reveal it in a way that proves it wasn't changed.
A commitment scheme is a cryptographic method that lets someone commit to a specific, chosen value while keeping that value hidden from others, and later reveal it in a way that provably demonstrates it's the same value they originally committed to, not one chosen or changed afterward.
Commitment schemes are a common building block within zero-knowledge proof systems (see Kaavon's "Zero-Knowledge Proof" glossary definition) and other cryptographic protocols that need to prove something was decided in advance, without revealing what it was until later.
Examples
- A commitment scheme lets a protocol prove a value was fixed at an earlier point in time, without revealing the value itself until a later reveal step.
- Commitment schemes are a foundational cryptographic building block used inside many zero-knowledge proof constructions.