ZK themes to watch: hybrid proofs, zk interop, proving services, Manta, ZK RaaS
Thread320 words
Lists five zk areas he is tracking: zk fraud proofs in hybrid optimistic rollups, zk-powered interop, RISC Zero proving as a service, Manta's Solidity-native zk layer versus Aleo's new language, and ZK rollup-as-a-service.
Key claims
Manta needs no new language unlike Aleo's Leo, reducing dev friction
Fuel, Metis and Layer N are working on hybrid zk fraud proof systems
Was recently asked what I'm currently looking into on the zk side of things.
Thought might be sharing some thoughts.
馃挱馃憞
Have been a bit more focused on modular tech like shared sequencing and data availability recently, as I've been busy writing reports on that (that will drop soon 馃憖).
But always following developments around rollups and zk tech.
Some examples include:
馃殌 Hybrid Proof Systems
Think there might be some potential for zk proof systems to be used in hybrid optimistic rollups that use zk proofs to prove fraud. Fuel, Metis or Layer N are working on implementing systems like this.
馃殌 ZK-Interoperability
Have been looking into zk-powered interop quite a bit (validity proof aggregation layers or light client based state verification through zk proofs and zkIBC). Some examples include Succinct Labs, Polyhedra, Electron Labs or Polymer.
馃殌 Risc Zero & Proving as a Service
Like the work a lot that RiscZero is doing with the zkVM. Similar to zk co-processors like Axiom or zk oracles like HyperOracle, this tech can enable verifiable off-chain cumputation for applications and allow them to scale trustlessly.
馃殌 Manta's Programmable ZK Layer
Think Manta (thanks to integration of universal zk circuits) has the potential to become a significant zkApp ecosystem.
Opposed to many other programmable zk layers (e.g. aleo) there is no need to learn a new language (e.g. leo) and hence there is less friction for devs.
Native bridge to Ethereum also gives access to liq and users, which can be key. Haven't rly spottet any specific projects building on it yet that I'm specifically bullish on.
馃殌 ZK-Rollup-as-Service
RaaS will be big in general. Interesting to see the different approaches though. Curious to see which frameworks will find the best PMF and what tech components (e.g. proof systems) will gain adoption.
Obviously there is more, but think those are a few cool zk-related things I'm currently keeping an eye on! 馃憖
What came next 路 since 10 Oct 2023
Since then
Zero has written 9 more pieces on Fuel since this one.