As the ship of the encrypted world cuts through the waves and sails into the deep sea of 2025, we are no longer satisfied with merely seeing the vast ocean of blockchain; we yearn to steer the ship ourselves, rather than placing our trust in any unreliable captain. In this year, a thought-provoking design concept—'Minimal Trust Assumption'—serves as an invisible beacon in the deep sea, guiding the design direction of decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 infrastructure, especially within the Optimal Trustless Framework (OTF), which I prefer to call the optimal trustless framework. It is no longer an academic concept discussed in theory, but rather the cornerstone of the next generation of core Web3 infrastructure, heralding a future where trust boundaries are defined by mathematics and code rather than third-party entities.
In-depth Analysis: The Anchor of Trust for OTF—Forged by Code and Mathematics
The 'minimized trust assumption' pursued by OTF is fundamentally about reducing any aspect of the system that requires users to trust third-party entities to the minimum possible, until only trust in the underlying cryptography and the immutability of the blockchain itself remains. This is akin to building an infallible bridge, whose stability does not stem from the engineer's reputation or the regulator's promises, but relies entirely on the laws of physics and the indestructibility of the materials themselves. In the context of Web3, this means transforming the trust in intermediaries found in traditional financial systems into trust in verifiable code and mathematical proofs.
#### Technical/Mechanism Analysis: The Three-Horse Carriage Driving Trust Minimization
The 'minimized trust assumption' of OTF is not achieved overnight; it relies on the synergistic effect of a series of cutting-edge technologies:
The Foundational Power of Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs): ZKPs allow one party (the prover) to prove to another party (the verifier) that a certain statement is true without revealing any information other than the truth of that statement. This is crucial in OTF as it allows for the coexistence of transaction privacy and compliance. Imagine you can prove your transaction complies with specific rules, such as anti-money laundering, without exposing the transaction amount or the identity of the counterparty. L2 solutions like Starknet have widely utilized ZKPs to batch process off-chain transactions and submit concise validity proofs on-chain, significantly enhancing scalability. By December 2025, the application of ZKPs in DeFi has far exceeded privacy transactions, extending to identity verification (proving identity without revealing sensitive information), scalable smart contracts, etc., and is predicted to become standard features of DeFi platforms.
Chart Simulation Effect*: Imagine a double-layer pie chart, where the outer layer represents all transaction data, and the inner layer represents the compressed and encrypted verification information via ZKP. Although the inner pie chart is small, it is sufficient to prove the legality of the outer layer data without needing to peek at its details.
The Pillar of Verifiable Computation (VC): VC technology allows complex computational tasks to be transferred from on-chain to off-chain execution while ensuring the correctness and tamper-resistance of the computation results through cryptographic proofs. This is vital for transaction frameworks (like OTF) that require high throughput and low latency. For instance, Chainlink Automation 2.0 enables developers to execute complex smart contract logic off-chain at very low gas costs while maintaining on-chain trust-minimized security guarantees. As of now, VC has become a key link connecting efficiency and trust, especially in zk-Rollups, where it processes bulk transactions off-chain and only submits validity proofs to the main chain, significantly reducing congestion and transaction fees.
Chart Simulation Effect*: Imagine a flowchart where the left side is on-chain, the right side is off-chain, and there is a box labeled 'Proof Generator' in the middle. Complex computations occur off-chain, but each endpoint of the computation has a beam connecting back to the on-chain 'verification beam', ensuring that every step of off-chain execution is clear, traceable, and tamper-proof.
The Fair Order of Decentralized Sequencers: In Rollup architectures, sequencers are responsible for collecting, ordering transactions, and submitting them in batches to the main chain. Centralized sequencers may face risks such as single points of failure, transaction censorship, and Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) monopolies. If OTF aims to achieve a minimized trust assumption, decentralized sequencers are an indispensable part. By allowing multiple entities in a distributed network to compete for ordering transactions and utilizing Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus or staking mechanisms to select and incentivize sequencers, the degree of decentralization, censorship resistance, and fair distribution of MEV in the network can be significantly improved. For example, projects like Morph emphasize building a decentralized sequencer network from the outset, electing sequencers through ETH and native token staking, and establishing reward and punishment mechanisms to ensure a balance between efficiency and decentralization.
Chart Simulation Effect*: It could display a decentralized network composed of multiple nodes, all working around a transaction pool, voting to determine transaction order through a consensus mechanism, rather than being dominated by a single central node.
#### Market Positioning Analysis: A New Paradigm of Trust in Web3
OTF occupies a unique position in the DeFi market. It does not simply compete with existing DEXs or CEXs but aims to provide a more underlying, safer, and more trust-minimized trading infrastructure.
Advantages: Compared to the absolute trust in centralized entities of traditional CEXs, and the partial reliance on centralized components (such as centralized sequencers) in many DEXs, OTF's minimized trust assumption greatly reduces counterparty risk and platform risk. It is expected to achieve higher censorship resistance, stronger security, and potentially better execution efficiency.
Disadvantages*: The complexity of the technology is its greatest challenge. The high cost of ZKP generation (although being optimized) and the complexity of system design may slow its adoption.
#### Economic Model Interpretation: Trust Transformed into Value
An OTF based on a minimized trust assumption will construct its economic model around the trust guarantees it provides.
Value Capture: Primarily through transaction fees or protocol fees, but these fees should be transparent and far lower than traditional intermediary costs, as users gain a higher level of decentralized trust. Additionally, by providing incentives to validators/sequencers, honest behavior is encouraged, and malicious actions are penalized (such as through staking tokens as punishment).
Incentive Design*: Ecosystem participants (such as LPs, traders, and sequencers) will be incentivized through token rewards, fee sharing, and other means. A sound token economics will ensure the security, activity, and decentralization of the network. For instance, decentralized sequencers may attract participants by offering MEV rewards and transaction fees.
Token Economics*: Native tokens may have governance rights, staking utility (for securing network safety and participating in sequencing), fee payment, and other functions, thereby capturing the intrinsic value of the protocol.
#### Ecological Development Assessment: The Future's Gravitational Center
By December 2025, with increasing demands for security and decentralization, frameworks like OTF will attract significant attention from developers and users.
Developer Activity: Providing robust SDKs and user-friendly development tools will accelerate the building of DeFi protocols on top of it, utilizing its trust-minimized characteristics to develop new financial primitives.
User Growth*: As users' concerns about centralized risks increase and the demand for privacy and censorship resistance grows, OTF is expected to attract a large number of users seeking a safer trading environment.
Partner Networks*: Establish deep collaborations with Layer 1 blockchains, oracle networks (such as Chainlink providing verifiable off-chain data and computation), cross-chain bridges, etc., to expand its application boundaries.
#### Risk Challenges Revealed: The Thorns on the Path to Decentralization
Although OTF has a bright future, it is not without challenges:
Technical Implementation Risks: The complexity of cryptography and distributed system design poses potential vulnerability risks. Rigorous code audits and ongoing community security research are crucial.
Market Adoption Risks*: Changing user habits takes time, and educating users about the value of the 'minimized trust assumption' is no easy task.
Regulatory Risks*: Although its design aims to be censorship-resistant, the global regulations on DeFi and digital assets are still rapidly evolving, especially concerning data privacy, KYC/AML, etc., which may bring uncertainties.
Coping Strategies*: Continuous technological innovation, open-source transparent community collaboration, progressive decentralization strategies, and proactive communication with regulators to seek compliance pathways.
Practical Value Extension: Anchoring the Future, The Wise Lead the Way
The 'minimized trust assumption' design advocated by OTF is not just a technical paradigm, but a philosophical shift that will profoundly impact the future of Web3.
#### Operational Guidelines and Trend Predictions: Identifying Signals of Value
For investors and Web3 participants, it is crucial to identify and support projects adopting the 'minimized trust assumption' principle. When evaluating a protocol, we should delve deeper into:
Does it adequately utilize ZKPs or verifiable computation to reduce trust requirements? For example, does it provide verifiable off-chain state transition proofs instead of merely relying on honest assumptions?
2. Has its core infrastructure (such as sequencers) achieved or is actively pursuing decentralization? Beware of projects that claim decentralization but have core components still controlled by a single entity.
3. Does its economic model effectively incentivize trust-minimizing behavior and penalize malicious actions?
4. Is its code open-source and has it undergone multiple rounds of top-tier audits?
Looking ahead, I predict:
'Trust Minimization' will become the core metric for assessing the quality of DeFi projects, just like today's TVL and transaction volume. Projects lacking a clear trust model will gradually lose market share.
Modular Blockchains and Intent-based Transactions* will further advance the development of OTF. Intent transactions simplify user operations, but if the underlying solver mechanism can combine with OTF's minimized trust assumption, it will achieve a higher level of security and decentralization.
#### Industry Impact: Reshaping the Cornerstone of Digital Finance
The 'minimized trust assumption' design of OTF will have a revolutionary impact on the entire Web3 industry:
Enhancing capital efficiency and security: Eliminating reliance on centralized intermediaries means lower friction costs, faster settlement speeds, and stronger risk resilience.
Birth of New Financial Primitives*: With extremely high trust guarantees, it is possible to construct complex financial products and derivatives that are currently unimaginable.
Driving the Evolution of Decentralized Regulation*: Achieve on-chain regulation without disclosing privacy through programmable compliance (such as ZKP-based identity verification and transaction auditing).
#### Call to Action for Readers: Be a Pioneer of the Trust Revolution
As participants in Web3, each of us is a witness and promoter of this trust revolution. I suggest:
Deeply learn and understand the core technological principles of zero-knowledge proofs, verifiable computation, and decentralized sequencers.
2. When choosing DeFi protocols, use the 'minimized trust assumption' as an important screening criterion, examining its trust model rather than blindly pursuing high yields.
3. Actively participate in community governance, promoting projects towards more decentralized and trust-minimized directions.
As emphasized by Web3 UX design, although we pursue a 'trustless' system, the sense of 'trust' in user experience is still indispensable. This trust is no longer based on verbal promises, but is built collectively by each rigorous mathematical proof and every line of transparent code. The 'minimized trust assumption' design of OTF is precisely about weaving this indestructible web of trust for all of us.
This article is an independent personal analysis and does not constitute investment advice.
