ElGamal Encryption
ZK Compression · Bottom
ElGamal encryption is a public-key cryptosystem based on the Diffie-Hellman problem over an elliptic curve group, providing additive homomorphism — the encryption of a sum equals the product of individual ciphertexts — making it suitable for confidential balance accounting without decryption. On Solana, Token-2022's Confidential Transfers extension uses Twisted ElGamal over Ristretto255 to encrypt token balances, allowing homomorphic updates while zero-knowledge range proofs prevent overdrafts without revealing amounts. Each confidential token account stores pending and available encrypted balances, decryptable only by the owner's ElGamal private key.