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RISC Zero

53 pieces · Dec 2022 to Feb 2026 · 14 flagship

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ZK43 L1/L232 Ethereum9 Tooling7 Privacy5 Bitcoin4

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Start here · the strongest pieces on RISC Zero

Article23 Jul 2025Citrea deep dive: unlocking Bitcoin's $1.3T dormant liquidity with a ZK rollupAnalyzes Citrea, the first ZK rollup on Bitcoin, against wrapped tokens, federated bridges, sidechains and client-side validation. Covers its zkEVM, BitVM-based Clementine bridge, Bitcoin data availability, bApps ecosystem and risks.Map15 Mar 2024Modular ecosystem map: execution, DA, sequencing, proving, interop and RaaSPrimer on monolithic versus modular design followed by a landscape of projects per layer: rollups, settlement, DA, sequencing, proving, interoperability, rollup SDKs, RaaS, orderflow abstraction and RPC.Map05 Jun 2024The Ultimate ZK Landscape 2.0: zkVMs, zkEVMs, proving, aggregation and privacyLandscape of the ZK stack by category: zkVMs, zkEVMs, universal proving and verification layers, proof aggregation, hardware acceleration and privacy projects. Asks the audience what is missing.

Timeline · every piece, newest first

2026 2

26 Feb 2026ZK coprocessors: the missing layer between data and contractsExplains the pattern of heavy off-chain computation returning a result plus ZK proof for onchain verification, and compares Brevis and Axiom (data queries) with RISC Zero, Boundless and Succinct SP1 (general-purpose zkVMs).ExplainerZKTooling

25 Feb 2026ZK Proof Costs Are Collapsing: Here's Who Wins and Who Gets CommoditizedReport on the ZK proving stack in three layers: hardware, proving networks and applications. Proof cost fell from $2.00 in 2023 to $0.05 on ASICs; compares GPU, FPGA and ASIC bets, then the Boundless and Succinct networks.ArticleZKDePIN

2025 13

01 Aug 2025Boundless bull case and FDV target: Succinct PROVE as precedentSummarizes the Boundless bull case: chain-agnostic proving market, permissionless provers paid via Proof of Verifiable Work, 40+ integrations and a strong community. Targets a $1B to $2B FDV, using Succinct's PROVE as precedent.ThesisZK

30 Jul 2025MegaETH snapshot: 100k TPS target, sub-10ms blocks, ZK fraud proofsBullet snapshot of MegaETH: 100k TPS and 10+ GGAS per second targets, sub-10ms blocks, 1B testnet blocks with zero reorgs, Kailua ZK fraud proofs and EigenDA data availability.DataL1/L2Ethereum

28 Jul 2025The ZK endgame: Boundless vs Succinct proving markets comparedCompares Boundless' open reverse-auction proving market with Succinct's single-prover API model. Concludes the market is large enough for two or more players, with multi-prover systems and aggregation layers likely.ThesisZKTooling

24 Jul 2025MegaETH ZK fraud proofs with Kailua: disputes resolved in about an hourMegaETH swaps the interactive bisection game for a single non-interactive ZK fraud proof via Kailua, cutting dispute resolution from days to about an hour. The proposer does no work in a dispute and EigenDA keeps data available for challenges.ExplainerL1/L2ZKEthereum

23 Jul 2025Boundless go-to-market: The Signal and community building as infra strategyArgues Boundless wins on strategy: a community of advocates, The Signal as flagship application bootstrapping marketplace demand, avoiding extractive VC-designed tokenomics and first-mover position in verifiable compute.ThesisZKMarket structure

23 Jul 2025Citrea TL;DR: Bitcoin's first ZK rollup and the bApps ecosystemSummarizes his Citrea article: the first Bitcoin ZK rollup brings EVM programmability using RiscZero, BitVM and the Clementine 1-of-N bridge, with non-custodial bApps whose fees settle on Bitcoin L1.BreakdownBitcoinZKL1/L2

23 Jul 2025Citrea deep dive: unlocking Bitcoin's $1.3T dormant liquidity with a ZK rollupAnalyzes Citrea, the first ZK rollup on Bitcoin, against wrapped tokens, federated bridges, sidechains and client-side validation. Covers its zkEVM, BitVM-based Clementine bridge, Bitcoin data availability, bApps ecosystem and risks.ArticleBitcoinZKL1/L2

20 Jul 2025WTF is 'The Signal'? Boundless and Ethereum finality as a ZK primitiveExplains Boundless as verifiable compute for any chain with reverse Dutch auction price discovery and Proof of Verifiable Work metering RISC-V cycles. The Signal proves Ethereum finality so any chain can verify it, replacing multi-sig bridges for bridging, unified DeFi and faster rollup finality.ArticleZKEthereum

10 Jul 2025Citrea: Bitcoin's first ZK rollup and the BitVM-based Clementine bridgeCitrea batches transactions off-chain, proves them with RISC Zero's zkVM and Boundless, and inscribes proofs and state diffs on Bitcoin, enabling EVM contracts without protocol changes. The Clementine bridge uses BitVM for 1-of-N trust-minimized BTC bridging.BreakdownBitcoinZK

01 Jul 2025RISC Zero spins out the Boundless foundation as a multi-zkVM home for ZKExplains the Boundless foundation split: RISC Zero keeps R&D while the foundation drives grants, RFPs and ecosystem growth, with a multi-zkVM approach instead of a walled garden. Cites 30+ teams shipping and a nearing TGE.BreakdownZKTooling

26 Jun 2025Counter-takes on infra winners and losers: ZK, RaaS, intents, restakingPartly agrees that Hyperliquid reset standards but pushes back project by project on a list of supposedly dead infra: Zama, RISC Zero, Caldera and Anoma. Agrees shared sequencing and EigenLayer copycats are in tough spots, and adds Fluent, Sovereign Labs and zkML as alive.Market takeZKL1/L2Market structure

18 Jun 2025The Ultimate ZK Infrastructure Landscape: 64 projects across 8 verticalsMaps 64 ZK projects across zkVMs, universal proving, verification and aggregation, zkEVMs, app-specific rollups, hardware acceleration, ZK privacy and zkTLS.MapZKL1/L2Privacy

13 Jun 2025Boundless ZK mining: Proof of Verifiable Work and the ZKC reward modelExplains Boundless's marketplace where miners earn requestor fees plus ZKC proportional to RISC-V cycles proven, with deterministic rewards from a verifiable cycle count. Covers the trader service and hardware requirements.ExplainerZKTooling

2024 26

19 Nov 2024Kailua: RISC Zero's hybrid ZK fault proofs for the OP StackExplains Kailua, a RISC Zero hybrid for OP chains that replaces interactive fault proofs with non-interactive ZK fault proofs, generating proofs only during disputes. Argues this cuts proving cost versus OP Succinct while giving sub-1-hour finality.ExplainerZKL1/L2

14 Nov 2024Taiko adds RISC Zero ZK proofs to its multi-proof based rollupTaiko moves from TEE-only proofs to a multi-proof setup adding RISC Zero R0 and Succinct SP1 alongside SGX, becoming the first based ZK rollup on Ethereum. Multi-proof hedges against bugs in any single proving system.ExplainerZKL1/L2

13 Nov 2024Electron Quantum: ZK proof aggregation cuts verification cost 95%Explains how Electron's Quantum aggregates proofs from different schemes into one Superproof verified on Ethereum, amortizing cost across protocols. It is the first aggregator compatible with Boundless.ExplainerZKEthereum

09 Oct 2024zkVM benchmark: why RISC Zero R0 won the Nescience testWalks through Vac's benchmark of six zkVMs for the Nescience privacy architecture. R0 won on proof speed, size and memory; Valida is promising but early; SP1 lacks full ZK; zkWASM was weakest.DataZKPrivacy

08 Oct 2024zkVM landscape: 15 projects comparedDescribes 15 zkVM projects with their proof systems, performance focus and privacy properties, and clarifies that snarkOS, zkLLVM and Powdr are not strictly zkVMs.MapZK

08 Oct 2024Seven AI plays beyond TAO: io.net, NEAR, Nillion, Ritual, Fhenix, RISC ZeroWatchlist of seven DeAI plays beyond TAO, each with a short thesis: GPU aggregation, user-owned AI, a subnet network, private compute, inference, FHE and ZK compute.BreakdownAIDePIN

08 Oct 2024Steel 1.0: RISC Zero's ZK prover for offchain EVM executionExplains Steel 1.0, a smart contract execution prover that moves Solidity execution offchain via the R0 zkVM, bypassing gas limits and keeping onchain security through ZK proofs. A user processed 400,000 SLOADs in one call.ExplainerZKEthereum

16 Sep 2024RISC Zero Boundless: universal ZK verifiable compute layerLong thread explaining why ZK matters and how Boundless offers verifiable compute on any chain through a decentralized prover network, universal proof verification and RISC-V based components. Covers partners, funding and the likely token.BreakdownZKL1/L2

16 Sep 2024Spicenet: Solana network extension for fast perps trading on CelestiaBreaks down Spicenet, an optimistic sovereign rollup on Celestia built with the Sovereign SDK. It hosts Pepper DEX, a perps and futures venue using a modified Dexterity protocol, and uses RISC Zero ZK proofs and a Solana bridge.BreakdownSolanaPerpsL1/L2

01 Sep 2024RISC Zero: why general-purpose zkVMs matterArgues RISC Zero's R0 zkVM lets developers prove any Rust or RISC-V computation without writing circuits. Proofs are verifiable on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Linea, Optimism and Polygon.ExplainerZK

12 Aug 2024Celestia Lemongrass upgrade: 1-click TIA and Blobstream ZeroLemongrass enables 1-click native TIA on interwoven rollups and adds interchain accounts. CIP-20 deprecates the old Blobstream module in favor of zk light clients such as RISC Zero's Blobstream Zero.ExplainerL1/L2ZK

22 Jul 2024Eclipse stack: SVM execution, RISC Zero proving, Celestia DABreaks Eclipse into its modular components: SVM execution, RISC Zero zkVM proving, Ethereum settlement and Celestia for data publication, delivering parallel SVM execution on Ethereum.BreakdownL1/L2SolanaZK

20 Jul 2024RISC Zero zkVM: write Rust, prove in R0, verify onchainExplains RISC Zero's general-purpose zkVM that runs any language compiling to RISC-V, so devs write Rust, run it in R0 and verify proofs onchain without custom circuits. Verifier contracts are live on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base and Starknet.ExplainerZK

20 Jul 2024ZK-powered Blobstream TL;DR: Celestia DA for Ethereum L2sTL;DR of his report: Blobstream relays Celestia data roots to Ethereum so L2s get cheap DA, with ZK implementations Blobstream X (Succinct) and Blobstream Zero (RISC Zero) reducing overhead.ExplainerZKL1/L2

20 Jul 2024Next-Gen DA for Ethereum L2s: ZK-Powered BlobstreamExplains how Blobstream attests Celestia data to Ethereum L2s versus data availability committees, and how ZK versions from Succinct and RISC Zero cut overhead. Blobspace starts at 8MB per block, roughly 9,000 to 30,000 ERC-20 TPS.ArticleZKL1/L2Ethereum

04 Jul 2024RISC Zero thesis: data-driven case for the leading general-purpose zkVMArgues RISC Zero leads zkVMs on four benchmark charts: up to 12x faster proof generation, cost, consumer devices and ZK Tendermint light clients. R0 zkVM 1.0 proves any Rust program, with verifiers live on several chains.ThesisZK

08 Jun 2024General purpose zkVMs as an execution layer catalyst: RISC Zero R0 and SteelArgues general purpose zkVMs like RISC Zero's RISC-V based R0 shift complex computation off-chain with succinct on-chain verification, enabling zkEVMs, proofs of alt-VM execution (MoveVM, SVM) and zkML. Cites Citrea, a Bitcoin L2 verifying ZK proofs via BitVM, and the Steel ZK co-processor.ThesisZKL1/L2

05 Jun 2024The Ultimate ZK Landscape 2.0: zkVMs, zkEVMs, proving, aggregation and privacyLandscape of the ZK stack by category: zkVMs, zkEVMs, universal proving and verification layers, proof aggregation, hardware acceleration and privacy projects. Asks the audience what is missing.MapZKPrivacy

01 Jun 2024RISC Zero Universal Verifier coming to Ethereum, Base, Optimism and ArbitrumExplains why general purpose zkVMs matter: R0 proves arbitrary Rust code without custom circuits, and the Universal Verifier lets any chain verify those proofs. Links Zeth's provable Optimism block building to simpler fault proofs and eventual validity proofs on the OP Stack.ExplainerZKL1/L2

26 May 2024RISC Zero: Zeth for the OP Stack and Steel ZK coprocessorCovers RISC Zero's Zeth, a Type-1 zkEVM that can provably build Ethereum and now Optimism blocks, and Steel, a view call proof library that gives the ZK coprocessor access to Ethereum state without writing circuits. Notes the trusted setup concluded on the road to zkVM 1.0.ExplainerZKL1/L2

23 Apr 2024RISC Zero explained: zkVM, verifiable computation and the trusted setupExplains RISC Zero's RISC-V zkVM, which lets developers write ZK apps in Rust without circuits, with use cases like ZK coprocessors and ZK fraud proofs for Optimism. Covers the trusted setup ceremony and the author's expectation of a participant airdrop.ExplainerZK

22 Apr 2024Interoperability guide v2: messaging, transport, bridges and proof layersUpdated interop landscape separating cross-chain messaging, transport layer, bridge, aggregation and cross-chain DEX protocols, then adding proving, proof aggregation and verification layers and shared sequencers as modular building blocks.MapL1/L2Tooling

21 Apr 2024The Ultimate Interoperability Guide: landscape of cross-chain protocolsCategorized landscape of interoperability protocols across messaging, cross-chain DEXs and AMMs, lending, liquidity aggregation, bridges, proof aggregation, proving and verification, each with a short descriptor such as Wormhole's 13/19 guardian set.MapL1/L2Tooling

16 Apr 2024ZK frontier map: zkVMs, zkEVMs, proving, verification and aggregation layersTaxonomy of ZK infrastructure: 13 zkVMs, four zkEVMs, universal proving layers (Gevulot, Lagrange), verification layers (Aligned, Horizen) and proof aggregation layers (AggLayer, Nebra, Union, Electron).MapZK

15 Mar 2024Modular ecosystem map: execution, DA, sequencing, proving, interop and RaaSPrimer on monolithic versus modular design followed by a landscape of projects per layer: rollups, settlement, DA, sequencing, proving, interoperability, rollup SDKs, RaaS, orderflow abstraction and RPC.MapL1/L2Ethereum

07 Feb 2024Citrea: a Bitcoin ZK rollup using RISC Zero and BitVMExplains Citrea's design: a Type 2 zkEVM in a STARK-based zkVM, proofs and state diffs inscribed on Bitcoin, BitVM-based optimistic verification, forced transactions for censorship resistance and reorg resistance after 6 confirmations.ExplainerBitcoinZKL1/L2

2023 11

03 Nov 2023Layer N Nord: app-specific exchange rollup with Rust orderbook VMExplains Layer N's Nord rollup for exchanges, with a Rust orderbook VM, RISC Zero proofs, EigenDA and inter-rollup communication. Compares AMMs, staked pools and CLOBs and claims 100,000 TPS.BreakdownDeFiL1/L2

02 Nov 2023Celestium design: Starknet L3 with Celestia DA, cost components and trade-offsExplores an L3 rollup on Starknet with DA on Celestia. Settlement on Starknet cuts proof verification costs, while main costs are verification, Celestia DA and bridging attestations. Suits gaming and perps but lacks a native bridge.ExplainerL1/L2ZK

10 Oct 2023ZK themes to watch: hybrid proofs, zk interop, proving services, Manta, ZK RaaSLists 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.Market takeZKL1/L2

02 Oct 2023Vistara: one-click app-specific and sovereign rollups with modular componentsBreaks down Vistara's rollup-as-a-service where builders pick execution, sequencer, DA, interop and proving from a UI. Initially sovereign optimistic rollups on Celestia with Dymension settlement, with ZK via SHARP or Bonsai planned.BreakdownL1/L2

08 Sep 2023RISC Zero Zeth: a type 0 zkEVM and what proving an Ethereum block costsExplains Zeth, built on RISC Zero's zkVM by reusing reth and revm to prove entire Ethereum blocks, and why RISC Zero calls it type 0. Benchmark: block 17735424 (182 txs, 3.4B cycles) proven on 64 GPUs in 50 minutes for about $21.72.BreakdownZKEthereum

19 Jul 2023Why WASM smart contracts beat Solidity: speed, languages, security, determinismArgues WASM contracts outperform Solidity on performance, language flexibility, error handling, memory safety, deterministic execution and LLVM backing, and expects zkWASM and RISC Zero to bring it to Ethereum L2s.ThesisL1/L2Tooling

13 Jul 20232023 crypto narratives: LSDfi, zkEVMs, DA, app-specific rollups, privacy, RWALists the narratives he is positioned in: LSDfi, zkEVMs, recursive L3 scaling, hyperscalable DA, app-specific rollups, privacy, interoperability, parallel VMs, WASM/RISC-V VMs, RWA (pending regulatory clarity) and perp DEXes.ThesisL1/L2PrivacyDeFi

24 May 2023ZK fraud proofs: RISC Zero and Layer N merge optimistic and zk rollupsCommentary on RISC Zero and Layer N's ZK fraud proof system: optimistic rollups struggle to keep fraud proofs small, zk rollups face expensive proving, and proving fraud in zk keeps proofs succinct while saving cost versus full zk rollups.ExplainerZKL1/L2

04 Apr 2023RISC Zero zkVM: bringing RISC-V languages to web3Argues RISC Zero's zkVM, built on the RISC-V instruction set, can onboard devs using C++, Rust or Python, unlike EVM-only zkEVMs. It can power new rollups or L1s and issue receipts that Ethereum contracts verify for off-chain compute.BreakdownZKL1/L2

28 Mar 2023Eclipse x Nautilus: a modular zkEVM rollup on the Solana VMExplains how Nautilus is assembled from Eclipse for settlement, Celestia for data availability, the Solana VM with Neon EVM for execution, and a planned RISC Zero zk proof upgrade, as an example of the modular thesis.BreakdownL1/L2SolanaZK

21 Mar 2023March 2023 watchlist: L2 VMs, zkEVMs, DA, sequencers, AA and perpsList of themes to watch: WASM and RISC-V VMs on L2, zkEVMs, specialized DA layers, shared sequencers, rollup SDKs, recursive L3s, EIP-4844, account abstraction, MPC custody, parallel VMs, identity and decentralized perps.MapEthereumL1/L2ZK

2022 1

27 Dec 2022ZK and modular stack watchlist: zkEVMs, zkVM, Aleo and EspressoSelection of projects under review: zkEVMs (Scroll, zkSync, StarkWare, Polygon Hermez, Kakarot), RISC Zero zkVM, Specular EVM-native optimistic rollup, Aleo private L1 and Espresso decentralized sequencers. States a modular bull stance.MapZKL1/L2Privacy

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Boundless42 Celestia145 Succinct38 Citrea15 EigenDA60 Taiko10 Scroll26 zkSync41

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