zkVM exploration

RM
1

SP1 zkVM

Overview

SP1 uses FRI-based STARK proving system with recursive aggregation and optional STARK-to-SNARK wrapping. It supports on-chain verification on Ethereum and Solana.

SP1 can execute and prove programs written in Rust, C, C++, or any language compiled to risc-v.

Proving System

  • Base proving system: FRI-based STARK

  • Field: Baby Bear field

    • Small field with prime

      p = 15 \cdot 2^{27} + 1

  • Recursion: Fully supported (recursive STARKs)

  • Acceleration:

    • Cryptographic precompiles

    • GPU acceleration

Proof Types in SP1

SP1 supports multiple proof types:

1. Core Proof (Default)

  • A list of STARK proofs

  • Fully transparent (no trusted setup)

  • Large proof size

  • Best suited for:

    • Off-chain verification

    • Further recursive proving and aggregation

2. Compressed Proof

  • Constant-size proof

  • Required for proof aggregation

  • Used as input for recursive verification inside SP1

Note: To verify an SP1 proof within SP1, a compressed proof must be generated first

3. Groth16 Proof

  • ~260 bytes

  • ~270k gas on Ethereum

  • Requires a trusted setup

  • Setup details:

    • Aztec ceremony

    • Additional entropy contributions from the Succinct team

4. PLONK Proof

  • ~868 bytes

  • ~300k gas on Ethereum

  • Universal trusted setup

Proof Aggregation & Recursion

  • SP1 natively supports recursive STARKs

  • Multiple proofs can be aggregated into a single proof

  • Aggregation occurs inside the zkVM itself

  • Aggregated proofs can then be wrapped into:

    • Groth16

    • PLONK

Local & Remote Proving

Local Proving

  • Fully supported(STARK, Groth16, and Plonk proofs)

  • Requires Docker env to generate Groth16 and Plonk proofs

  • Hardware requirements:

    image
    image1818Ă—550 45.8 KB

  • In practice, 32GB RAM recommended for Groth16 and Plonk proofs

  • Requires downloading Groth16 (2.82 GiB) and Plonk (1.09 GiB) circuit artifacts.

Remote Proving

SP1 supports a prover network that enables:

  • Fast proving with a GPU cluster
  • Decentralized proof generation

Precompiles

SP1 includes a set of precompiles to accelerate common cryptographic operations inside the zkVM.
It also supports extending precompiles by external contributors, but current documentation is limited—only a few examples exist, and the full developer guide will be coming as claimed.

Benchmark(TBD)
I’m benchmarking large circuits and cryptographic primitives; results coming soon.

Let me know if I missed any key features

Other zkVM exploration is underway—including Nexus, OpenVM, and others. Please suggest additional promising zkVMs so I can adjust priorities accordingly.

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