Taking Computing to the Next Level: An Overview of ZK Coprocessors and Frontier Projects

2023.05.16

Taking Computing to the Next Level: An Overview of ZK Coprocessors and Frontier Projects

Embrace the future of zk coprocessors and unlock endless possibilities.

2023.05.16 - 05:17:02

Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights

Embrace the future of zk coprocessors and unlock endless possibilities.

Author: E

Compiled by: TechFlow

Due to blockchain's computational limitations imposed for security, ZK coprocessors are becoming an increasingly prominent topic. They enhance computational capabilities while maintaining strong security. In this article, Galaxy Digital researcher E explores the concept, function, and some of the projects currently being built around ZK coprocessors.

Generally speaking, a coprocessor is a specialized component that assists the CPU by more efficiently handling certain tasks, thereby improving the overall efficiency and speed of a computing system.

A ZK coprocessor is an interoperability layer that performs arbitrary computations and provides a "receipt"—a mathematically valid proof confirming that the computation was correctly executed.

Each receipt includes a cryptographic identifier indicating which computation was performed and records any public outputs from that computation.

With these receipts, machines can explicitly "prove" that computations occurred—not just assert their occurrence, but also provide a verifiable trail. It’s like a trustless, secure audit for computation!

Why Do We Need ZK Coprocessors?

Blockchains impose computational limits, restricting operations on L1/L2 to a small set of inherently secure functions in order to maintain security. ZK coprocessors enhance computational capacity, enabling a broader range of operations while preserving strong security.

Which Protocols Are Building zk Coprocessors?

Axiom

Axiom is a ZK coprocessor for Ethereum that provides smart contracts with trustless access to all on-chain data and the ability to perform arbitrary expression computations on it.

Axiom is useful for any protocol or decentralized application (dapp) involving historical on-chain data or expression-based calculations, including trustless accounting, dynamic DeFi, trustless off-chain governance, and trustless on-chain oracles.

Axiom’s mission is to make zero-knowledge proofs as accessible and usable as possible for on-chain applications, unlocking a new wave of richer, more expressive trust-minimized dapps.

Tanuki

Tanuki leverages Axiom to provide a trustless, transparent system for calculating wallet scores based on historical on-chain data. This data can be used by credit scoring protocols such as Karma3labs, NFT pricing analytics like SPICYEST, and others.

Tanuki’s solution offers a decentralized alternative, enabling protocols to compute relevant metrics in a trustless manner, promoting fair and transparent interactions. Traditionally, these computations could only be performed within centralized and less transparent systems.

Risc Zero

Risc Zero provides a zkVM that can run on any platform. It acts as a virtual microcontroller/coprocessor, generating a receipt for every program it executes—somewhat like a secure virtual Arduino.

RiscZero’s Bonsai is a general-purpose zero-knowledge proof network, offering the ability to execute off-chain computations for blockchain smart contracts.

Herodotus

Herodotus aims to provide smart contracts with synchronized on-chain data access from other Ethereum layers. They believe storage proofs can unify the states of multiple rollups and even enable synchronous reads across Ethereum layers.

Poseidon ZKP

Poseidon ZKP aims to fill the gap in creating EVM-native zkDApps. It targets two major barriers to privacy-focused zkDApp development: the high barrier to entry due to cryptographic complexity, and expensive on-chain verification.

One feature Poseidon ZKP is developing involves creating composable ZKP primitives as smart contracts. Building on this, they offer a ZK-ZK aggregator that batches proofs generated by clients into a single aggregated proof, significantly reducing the amortized cost of ZKP verification.