Ethereum Foundation explains its ZK technology strategy: L1 zkEVM first, defining a new standard for "real-time proof"

PANews reported on July 11 that the Ethereum Foundation published a document stating that it is fully committed to zero-knowledge proof (ZK) technology, hoping to apply it at all levels of the protocol stack and first deploy L1 zero-knowledge Ethereum virtual machine (zkEVM). The fastest (i.e., achievable within 1 year) and safest way to deploy is to allow validators to optionally run new clients and statelessly verify multiple proofs generated by different zkVMs. Proof verification is fast, concise, and download verification is feasible, which can take a deep defense strategy for zkVM. As long as the protocol provides a pipeline mechanism in Glamsterdam, off-chain verification can be achieved first.

Initially, it is expected that a small number of validators will run zero-knowledge clients, and the Foundation will invest resources to gradually increase its adoption rate. When the majority of stakeholders are willing to run, the gas limit can be increased to enable validators to verify proofs, and proofs can also be used for zk-rollups. This plan can mobilize the entire zkVM industry. To maintain L1 security, etc., the Foundation proposes a standardized definition of real-time proof: 99% of mainnet blocks are completed within 10 seconds, hardware cost ≤ $100,000, power consumption ≤ 10kW, proof size ≤ 300KiB, and security ≥ 128 bits. "Real-time proof" aims to achieve "home proof", that is, some independent stakers who currently run validators at home can choose to participate in proof.