Learn about the latest developments of ZKWasm in one article

Author: Louis Song, SevenX

Compiled by: GWEI Research

WebAssembly (WASM) is a widely adopted virtual machine that has revolutionized web development. Its exceptional efficiency, portability, and compatibility with popular programming languages have made it a favorite among developers worldwide.

WASM was jointly developed by Google, Mozilla, Microsoft, and Apple, and has become a popular technology for building high-performance web applications. By compiling and executing directly on hardware, WASM provides significant performance improvements.

ZKWasm is an innovative technology that enables developers to build zero-knowledge applications using their preferred programming languages and deploy them in environments that support WebAssembly (wasm).

ZKWasm allows developers to verify the correctness of executed computations without re-executing them. By leveraging ZKWasm, developers can flexibly use various programming languages to build ZKP applications.

These applications can be seamlessly executed in web browsers. zkWASM offers various use cases, such as oracles, off-chain computation, automation, connecting Web2 and Web3, and generating proofs for machine learning and data processing.

As adoption increases, zkWASM will expand the possibilities of Web3 and bring Web2 developers into this transformative landscape.

@DelphinusLab is leading an open-source implementation of ZKWasm. They have provided a WASM zero-knowledge virtual machine for general applications to seamlessly replace the current WASM runtime.

With Delphinus Lab's ZKWasm implementation, developers can harness the power of zero-knowledge proofs to enhance the security and privacy of their applications, paving the way for a more trustworthy and decentralized digital landscape.

Delphinuslab zkWASM is the only fully implemented and open-source WASM zkVM that supports WASM bytecode to date. V1 has been released at https://github.com/DelphinusLab/zkWasm.

They provided an earlier explanation for the refined arithmetic design of zkWASM in halo2: https://twitter.com/DelphinusLab/status/1654305520466161664.

Several teams are already using ZKWasm to build innovative applications. For example, @HyperOracle is using it to build a programmable zkOracle network.

During #ZKSummit9, @DelphinusLab's founder @sinka2022 shared how to combine ZK VM and WASM to support innovative web3 applications, such as on-chain games. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLZbfTWLGNI

@zkwasm is a new L2 that leverages the zkWASM virtual machine to provide a trusted, universal multi-chain execution layer for all chains. It replicates the WASM environment as a rollup and allows developers to build on it as they would on EVM chains. https://medium.com/@0xwasm/wasm0-zkwasm-a-new-blockchain-environment-for-mass-adoption-15aab385a7ee

Despite the immense potential of ZKWasm, it still faces challenges. A key obstacle is performance, as ZKP schemes must be optimized for client applications. By improving efficiency, ZKWasm can become a practical choice for developers.

@icmeapp is attempting to optimize performance challenges in ZKWasm. They are exploring alternative ZKP schemes, such as SuperNova (a folding ZKP scheme), to enhance efficiency. Their founder @wyattbenno has written a great thread explaining the folding scheme. https://twitter.com/wyatt_benno/status/1650620615991373824

@icme_app is also delving into recursive ZKP schemes and CPU-friendly fields, such as Plonky2 and FRI, to make ZKWasm efficient enough for client applications.

In summary, zkWASM has the potential to become a technological innovation leading to the mass adoption of blockchain by building high-performance, interoperable applications that open new worlds for Web3. Let’s unlock the possibilities of this new era together!