zkvm

ChainCatcher reports live from the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival, where Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin delivered a keynote speech. He defined Ethereum by two core functions: first, as a public bulletin board for applications to publish messages and data; second, as shared digital objects controlled by code, encompassing assets, NFTs, ENS, and DAOs. He emphasized that Ethereum's goal is not to compete with high-frequency trading platforms on speed, but to become the most secure, decentralized, and always-online trusted chain.Regarding the short-term roadmap, he introduced the account abstraction proposal EIP-8141, which natively supports smart contract wallets, quantum-resistant signature algorithms, and privacy protocols; in terms of quantum resistance, there are currently two signature schemes based on hash and lattice, and the team is significantly enhancing their efficiency through EVM vectorization.He revealed that ZKVM is fast enough to prove real-time EVM execution, with this year's goal being to ensure its security, planning to start deployment from a small proportion of the network, aiming to become the primary method of validation by 2028, allowing Ethereum to scale significantly without sacrificing decentralization. In terms of long-term vision, Ethereum is actively utilizing AI to generate mathematical proofs to formalize software security verification, pursuing complete quantum safety and maximum simplicity to ensure platform security does not rely on the continuous existence of any single team.

According to The Block, a16z Crypto criticized the colloquial use of the term "ZK" in certain developer environments in a blog post about its Jolt zkVM. The article pointed out that most zkVMs do not actually possess zero-knowledge properties unless expensive "wrapping" programs are applied. The author also mentioned that "zk" often becomes synonymous with "conciseness," meaning "short proofs that verify quickly," rather than true zero-knowledge privacy.As the community's focus on privacy grows, the misuse of this terminology is becoming a real issue. a16z's open-source Jolt zkVM launched a major upgrade on Tuesday, natively supporting zero-knowledge proofs. Jolt employs the NovaBlindFold folding scheme to create blinded proofs to prevent information leakage, making it suitable for privacy applications, with the zero-knowledge proofs generated after the upgrade only increasing by about 3 KB compared to the original non-ZK proofs.

ZKsync releases the 2026 roadmap, focusing on three core directions:Prividium will expand the privacy engine into a "bank-grade stack," providing enterprises with a cryptographic infrastructure that has built-in privacy by default;ZK Stack will shift from a single-chain architecture to a "coordinated system," enabling application chains to operate seamlessly within this stack and natively integrate liquidity and shared infrastructure;Airbender will evolve from the "fastest zkVM" to a "universal standard," prioritizing security, formal rigor, and developer experience, with its service scope extending beyond ZKsync and the Ethereum ecosystem to a wider range of use case scenarios.

ChainCatcher news, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin posted on the X platform stating that the Ethereum team has performed exceptionally well this year, contributing in various ways to ensure the long-term scalability, decentralization, and resilience of Ethereum. All these ideas are expected to be ready for implementation while achieving key milestones in the short-term scaling roadmap.According to a retweeted post by Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum developers have proposed a minimal zkVM called "leanVM" suitable for streamlining Ethereum, which has been optimized for XMSS aggregation and recursion. Compared to Cairo, leanVM minimizes commitment costs with its four-instruction ISA, multi-linear STARK, and logup lookup.

ChainCatcher news, ZKM has released the next generation zkVM (Zero-Knowledge Proof Virtual Machine) Ziren (formerly zkMIPS), which opens up new possibilities for the deployability and scalability of zero-knowledge proof (ZK) systems in real-world applications through GPU acceleration, a distributed proof architecture, and a deeply optimized constraint system. Ziren achieves a 30x speedup in core proof generation, a 15x speedup in aggregated proofs, and reduces state preparation time from 5 minutes to 30 seconds, and has already been implemented in the GOAT Network's Bitcoin-native zkRollup project.The naming inspiration for Ziren comes from a variant of the myth "Siren," representing the transition from illusion to reality ------ technology is no longer just attractive, but a genuine promise that is truly usable. Ziren aims to be a truly efficient, trustworthy, and deployable zk infrastructure in the hands of mainstream developers, supporting proof generation for Rust/C/C++ programs, compatible with full Ethereum Rust client verification, and helping developers easily build trusted zero-knowledge systems.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Polygon co-founder Jordi Baylina and the team behind Polygon zkEVM have transitioned to an independent company called Zisk.It is reported that all related code and IP have been transferred to the new entity. According to information on Zisk's website, the project was incubated internally at Polygon Labs in May 2024 and officially became independent on June 13. Zisk will focus on low-latency, open-source zkVM proof technology.

ChainCatcher news, RISC Zero officially announced the launch of zkVM version 1.2, introducing a brand new "Application-defined Precompiles" feature. This innovation changes the traditional architecture of precompile modules, allowing precompile functionality to be deployed alongside applications without relying on fixed implementations within zkVM, enhancing performance and flexibility.The zkVM 1.2 version enables developers to immediately integrate precompile functionality into applications without system updates or additional coordination work, resulting in a faster and more efficient development experience.It is reported that Automata has integrated RISC Zero's RSA precompile functionality, reducing its program runtime from 39 million to 198,000, achieving approximately a 198-fold cost reduction.

ChainCatcher message, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake tweeted that the Ethereum Foundation is investing tens of millions of dollars in zkVM, including zkRISC-V formal verification, Poseidon cryptanalysis, and L2beat for zkVMs.

ChainCatcher news, a16z stated that several improvements have been made to the performance and usability of its zkVM Jolt, with validator costs significantly reduced, dropping from several MB proof sizes in April to about 200 KB, and can be further reduced to 25 KB; the prover is expected to accelerate by 3 times; supports the Rust standard library, etc.