ZK Coprocessors can be considered as off-chain computing plugins derived from the modular concept, similar to how GPUs offload graphical computing tasks from CPUs in traditional computers, handling specific computational tasks. In this design framework, tasks that public chains are not adept at, such as “heavy data” and “complex computational logic,” can be computed by ZK Coprocessors, with the chain only receiving the returned computation results. Their correctness is guaranteed by ZK proofs, ultimately achieving trusted off-chain computation for complex tasks.
Currently, popular applications like AI, SocialFi, DEX, and GameFi have a pressing need for high performance and cost control. In traditional solutions, these “heavy applications” requiring high performance often opt for asset on-chain + off-chain application models or design a separate application chain. However, both approaches have inherent issues: the former has a “black box,” and the latter faces high development costs, detachment from the original chain ecosystem, and fragmented liquidity. Additionally, the main chain virtual machine imposes significant limitations on the development and operation of such applications (e.g., lack of application layer standards, complex development languages).
ZK Coprocessors aim to solve these issues. To provide a more detailed example, we can think of the blockchain as a terminal (such as a phone or computer) that cannot connect to the internet. In this scenario, we can run relatively simple applications, like Uniswap or other DeFi applications, fully on-chain. But when more complex applications appear, such as running a ChatGPT-like application, the public chain’s performance and storage will be completely insufficient, leading to gas explosions. In the Web2 scenario, when we run ChatGPT, our common terminal itself cannot handle the GPT-4o large language model; we need to connect to OpenAI’s servers to relay the question, and after the server computes and infers the result, we directly receive the answer. ZK Coprocessors are like blockchain’s remote servers. While different coprocessor projects might have slight design differences depending on the project type, the underlying logic remains broadly similar — off-chain computation + ZK proofs or Storage proofs for validation.
Taking Rise Zero’s Bonsai deployment as an example, this architecture is very straightforward. The project seamlessly integrates into Rise Zero’s own zkVM, and developers only need two simple steps to use Bonsai as a coprocessor:
From the definitions above, it may appear that Rollups and ZK Coprocessors have highly overlapping implementation logic and goals. However, Rollups are more like multi-core expansions of the main chain, with the specific differences between the two as follows:
1.Primary Purpose:
2.Operating Principle:
3.State Management:
4.Application Scenarios:
5.Relationship with the Main Chain:
Thus, the two are not mutually exclusive but complementary. Even if a Rollup exists in the form of an application chain, ZK Coprocessors can still provide services.
Theoretically, the application scope of ZK Coprocessors is extensive, covering projects across various blockchain sectors. ZK Coprocessors enable Dapps to have functionalities closer to those of centralized Web2 apps. Here are some example use cases collected from online sources:
Data-Driven DApp Development:
ZK Coprocessors enable developers to create data-driven Dapps that utilize full on-chain historical data for complex computations without additional trust assumptions. This opens up unprecedented possibilities for Dapp development, such as:
VIP Trader Program for DEXs:
A typical application scenario is implementing a fee discount program based on trading volume in DEXs, known as the “VIP Trader Loyalty Program.” Such programs are common in CEXs but rare in DEXs.
With ZK Coprocessors, DEXs can:
Data Augmentation for Smart Contracts:
ZK Coprocessors can act as powerful middleware, providing data capture, computation, and verification services for smart contracts, thereby reducing costs and improving efficiency. This enables smart contracts to:
Cross-Chain Bridge Technology:
Some ZK-based cross-chain bridge technologies, such as Herodotus and Lagrange, can also be considered applications of ZK Coprocessors. These technologies focus primarily on data extraction and verification, providing a trusted data foundation for cross-chain communication.
Despite the numerous advantages, ZK Coprocessors at the current stage are far from perfect and face several issues. I have summarized the following points:
(This section is highly subjective and represents only the author’s personal views.)
This cycle is primarily led by modular infrastructure. If modularization is the correct path, this cycle might be the final step toward mass adoption. However, at the current stage, we all share a common sentiment: why do we only see some old applications repackaged, why are there more chains than applications, and why is a new token standard like inscriptions being hailed as the greatest innovation of this cycle?
The fundamental reason for the lack of fresh narratives is that the current modular infrastructure is insufficient to support super applications, especially lacking some prerequisites (cross-chain interoperability, user barriers, etc.), leading to the most significant fragmentation in blockchain history. Rollups, as the core of the modular era, have indeed sped things up, but they have also brought numerous issues, such as liquidity fragmentation, user dispersion, and limitations imposed by the chain or virtual machine itself on application innovation. Additionally, another “key player” in modularization, Celestia, has pioneered the path of DA not necessarily being on Ethereum, further exacerbating fragmentation. Whether driven by ideology or DA costs, the result is that BTC is forced to become DA, and other public chains aim to provide more cost-effective DA solutions. The current situation is that each public chain has at least one, if not dozens, of Layer2 projects. Adding to this, all infrastructure and ecosystem projects have deeply learned the token staking strategy pioneered by Blur, demanding users to stake tokens within the project. This mode, which benefits whales in three ways (interest, ETH or BTC appreciation, and free tokens), further compresses on-chain liquidity.
In the past bull markets, funds would only flow within a few to a dozen public chains, even concentrating mainly on Ethereum. Now, funds are dispersed across hundreds of public chains and staked in thousands of similar projects, leading to a decline in on-chain activity. Even Ethereum lacks on-chain activity. As a result, Eastern players engage in PVP in the BTC ecosystem, while Western players do so in Solana, out of necessity.
Therefore, my current focus is on how to promote aggregated liquidity across all chains and support the emergence of new playstyles and super applications. In the cross-chain interoperability sector, traditional leading projects have consistently underperformed, still resembling traditional cross-chain bridges. New interoperability solutions we discussed in previous reports primarily aim to aggregate multiple chains into a single chain. Examples include AggLayer, Superchain, Elastic Chain, JAM, etc., which will not be elaborated on here. In summary, cross-chain aggregation is a necessary hurdle in modular infrastructure but will take a long time to overcome.
ZK Coprocessors are a critical piece in the current phase. They can strengthen Layer2 and complement Layer1. Is there a way to temporarily overcome cross-chain and trilemma issues, allowing us to realize some current-era applications on certain Layer1s or Layer2s with extensive liquidity? After all, blockchain applications lack fresh narratives. Furthermore, enabling diverse playstyles, gas control, large-scale applications, cross-chain capabilities, and reducing user barriers through integrated coprocessor solutions might be more ideal than relying on centralization.
The ZK Coprocessor field emerged around 2023 and has become relatively mature at this stage. According to Messari’s classification, this field currently encompasses three major vertical domains (general computing, interoperability and cross-chain, AI and machine training) with 18 projects. Most of these projects are supported by leading VCs. Below, we describe several projects from different vertical domains.
Giza is a zkML (zero-knowledge machine learning) protocol deployed on Starknet, officially supported by StarkWare. It focuses on enabling AI models to be verifiably used in blockchain smart contracts. Developers can deploy AI models on the Giza network, which then verifies the correctness of model inference through zero-knowledge proofs and provides the results to smart contracts in a trustless manner. This allows developers to build on-chain applications that combine AI capabilities while maintaining the decentralization and verifiability of the blockchain.
Giza completes the workflow through the following three steps:
Giza’s approach allows AI models to serve as trusted input sources for smart contracts without relying on centralized oracles or trusted execution environments. This opens up new possibilities for blockchain applications, such as AI-based asset management, fraud detection, and dynamic pricing. It is one of the few projects in the current Web3 x AI space with a logical closed loop and a clever use of coprocessors in the AI field.
Risc Zero is a leading coprocessor project supported by multiple top VCs. It focuses on enabling any computation to be verifiably executed in blockchain smart contracts. Developers can write programs in Rust and deploy them on the RISC Zero network. RISC Zero then verifies the correctness of program execution through zero-knowledge proofs and provides the results to smart contracts in a trustless manner. This allows developers to build complex on-chain applications while maintaining the decentralization and verifiability of the blockchain.
We briefly mentioned the deployment and workflow earlier. Here, we detail two key components:
Risc Zero has integrated with multiple ETH Layer2 solutions and demonstrated various use cases for Bonsai. One interesting example is Bonsai Pay. This demonstration uses RISC Zero’s zkVM and Bonsai proof service, allowing users to send or withdraw ETH and tokens on Ethereum using their Google accounts. It showcases how RISC Zero can seamlessly integrate on-chain applications with OAuth2.0 (the standard used by major identity providers like Google), providing a use case that lowers the Web3 user barrier through traditional Web2 applications. Other examples include applications based on DAOs.
=nil; is an investment project supported by renowned entities such as Mina, Polychain, Starkware, and Blockchain Capital. Notably, zk technology pioneers like Mina and Starkware are among the backers, indicating high technical recognition for the project. =nil; was also mentioned in our report “The Computing Power Market,” primarily focusing on the Proof Market (a decentralized proof generation market). Additionally, =nil; has another sub-product called zkLLVM.
zkLLVM, developed by the =nil; Foundation, is an innovative circuit compiler that automatically converts application code written in mainstream programming languages such as C++ and Rust into efficient, provable circuits for Ethereum without the need for specialized zero-knowledge domain-specific languages (DSL). This significantly simplifies the development process, lowers the entry barrier, and improves performance by avoiding zkVM. It supports hardware acceleration to speed up proof generation, making it suitable for various ZK application scenarios such as rollups, cross-chain bridges, oracles, machine learning, and gaming. It is closely integrated with =nil; Foundation’s Proof Market, providing developers with end-to-end support from circuit creation to proof generation.
Brevis is a sub-project of Celer Network and is a smart zero-knowledge (ZK) coprocessor for blockchain, enabling dApps to access, compute, and utilize arbitrary data across multiple blockchains in a fully trustless manner. Like other coprocessors, Brevis has a wide range of use cases, such as data-driven DeFi, zkBridges, on-chain user acquisition, zkDID, and social account abstraction.
Brevis architecture consists of three main components:
With this modular architecture, Brevis can provide all supported public blockchain smart contracts with a trustless, efficient, and flexible access method. UNI’s V4 version also adopts this project and integrates it with Hooks (a system for integrating various user custom logic) to facilitate reading historical blockchain data, reduce gas fees, while ensuring decentralization. This is an example of a zk coprocessor promoting a DEX.
Lagrange is an interoperability zk coprocessor protocol led by 1kx and Founders Fund, primarily aimed at providing trustless cross-chain interoperability and supporting applications requiring large-scale data complex computation. Unlike traditional node bridges, Lagrange’s cross-chain interoperability is mainly achieved through its innovative ZK Big Data and State Committee mechanisms.
Lagrange has already integrated with EigenLayer, Mantle, Base, Frax, Polymer, LayerZero, Omni, AltLayer, among others, and will be the first ZK AVS to link within the Ethereum ecosystem.
YBB is a web3 fund dedicating itself to identify Web3-defining projects with a vision to create a better online habitat for all internet residents. Founded by a group of blockchain believers who have been actively participated in this industry since 2013, YBB is always willing to help early-stage projects to evolve from 0 to 1.We value innovation, self-driven passion, and user-oriented products while recognizing the potential of cryptos and blockchain applications.
References:
1.ABCDE:A Deep Dive into ZK Coprocessor and Its Future:https://medium.com/ABCDE.com/en-abcde-a-deep-dive-into-zk-coprocessor-and-its-future-1d1b3f33f946
2.“ZK” Is All You Need:https://medium.com/gate_ventures/zk-is-all-you-need-238886062c52
3.Risc zero:https://www.risczero.com/bonsai
4.Lagrange:https://www.lagrange.dev/blog/interoperability-for-modular-blockchains-the-lagrange-thesis
5.AxiomBlog:https://blog.axiom.xyz/
6.Nitrogen Acceleration! How ZK Coprocessor Breaks Down Smart Contract Data Barriers:https://foresightnews.pro/article/detail/48239
This article is reprinted from [medium], Forward the Original Title‘The GPU of Blockchain: Comprehensive Analysis of ZK Coprocessors’, All copyrights belong to the original author [YBB Capital Researcher Zeke]. If there are objections to this reprint, please contact the Gate Learn team, and they will handle it promptly.
Liability Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not constitute any investment advice.
Translations of the article into other languages are done by the Gate Learn team. Unless mentioned, copying, distributing, or plagiarizing the translated articles is prohibited.
ZK Coprocessors can be considered as off-chain computing plugins derived from the modular concept, similar to how GPUs offload graphical computing tasks from CPUs in traditional computers, handling specific computational tasks. In this design framework, tasks that public chains are not adept at, such as “heavy data” and “complex computational logic,” can be computed by ZK Coprocessors, with the chain only receiving the returned computation results. Their correctness is guaranteed by ZK proofs, ultimately achieving trusted off-chain computation for complex tasks.
Currently, popular applications like AI, SocialFi, DEX, and GameFi have a pressing need for high performance and cost control. In traditional solutions, these “heavy applications” requiring high performance often opt for asset on-chain + off-chain application models or design a separate application chain. However, both approaches have inherent issues: the former has a “black box,” and the latter faces high development costs, detachment from the original chain ecosystem, and fragmented liquidity. Additionally, the main chain virtual machine imposes significant limitations on the development and operation of such applications (e.g., lack of application layer standards, complex development languages).
ZK Coprocessors aim to solve these issues. To provide a more detailed example, we can think of the blockchain as a terminal (such as a phone or computer) that cannot connect to the internet. In this scenario, we can run relatively simple applications, like Uniswap or other DeFi applications, fully on-chain. But when more complex applications appear, such as running a ChatGPT-like application, the public chain’s performance and storage will be completely insufficient, leading to gas explosions. In the Web2 scenario, when we run ChatGPT, our common terminal itself cannot handle the GPT-4o large language model; we need to connect to OpenAI’s servers to relay the question, and after the server computes and infers the result, we directly receive the answer. ZK Coprocessors are like blockchain’s remote servers. While different coprocessor projects might have slight design differences depending on the project type, the underlying logic remains broadly similar — off-chain computation + ZK proofs or Storage proofs for validation.
Taking Rise Zero’s Bonsai deployment as an example, this architecture is very straightforward. The project seamlessly integrates into Rise Zero’s own zkVM, and developers only need two simple steps to use Bonsai as a coprocessor:
From the definitions above, it may appear that Rollups and ZK Coprocessors have highly overlapping implementation logic and goals. However, Rollups are more like multi-core expansions of the main chain, with the specific differences between the two as follows:
1.Primary Purpose:
2.Operating Principle:
3.State Management:
4.Application Scenarios:
5.Relationship with the Main Chain:
Thus, the two are not mutually exclusive but complementary. Even if a Rollup exists in the form of an application chain, ZK Coprocessors can still provide services.
Theoretically, the application scope of ZK Coprocessors is extensive, covering projects across various blockchain sectors. ZK Coprocessors enable Dapps to have functionalities closer to those of centralized Web2 apps. Here are some example use cases collected from online sources:
Data-Driven DApp Development:
ZK Coprocessors enable developers to create data-driven Dapps that utilize full on-chain historical data for complex computations without additional trust assumptions. This opens up unprecedented possibilities for Dapp development, such as:
VIP Trader Program for DEXs:
A typical application scenario is implementing a fee discount program based on trading volume in DEXs, known as the “VIP Trader Loyalty Program.” Such programs are common in CEXs but rare in DEXs.
With ZK Coprocessors, DEXs can:
Data Augmentation for Smart Contracts:
ZK Coprocessors can act as powerful middleware, providing data capture, computation, and verification services for smart contracts, thereby reducing costs and improving efficiency. This enables smart contracts to:
Cross-Chain Bridge Technology:
Some ZK-based cross-chain bridge technologies, such as Herodotus and Lagrange, can also be considered applications of ZK Coprocessors. These technologies focus primarily on data extraction and verification, providing a trusted data foundation for cross-chain communication.
Despite the numerous advantages, ZK Coprocessors at the current stage are far from perfect and face several issues. I have summarized the following points:
(This section is highly subjective and represents only the author’s personal views.)
This cycle is primarily led by modular infrastructure. If modularization is the correct path, this cycle might be the final step toward mass adoption. However, at the current stage, we all share a common sentiment: why do we only see some old applications repackaged, why are there more chains than applications, and why is a new token standard like inscriptions being hailed as the greatest innovation of this cycle?
The fundamental reason for the lack of fresh narratives is that the current modular infrastructure is insufficient to support super applications, especially lacking some prerequisites (cross-chain interoperability, user barriers, etc.), leading to the most significant fragmentation in blockchain history. Rollups, as the core of the modular era, have indeed sped things up, but they have also brought numerous issues, such as liquidity fragmentation, user dispersion, and limitations imposed by the chain or virtual machine itself on application innovation. Additionally, another “key player” in modularization, Celestia, has pioneered the path of DA not necessarily being on Ethereum, further exacerbating fragmentation. Whether driven by ideology or DA costs, the result is that BTC is forced to become DA, and other public chains aim to provide more cost-effective DA solutions. The current situation is that each public chain has at least one, if not dozens, of Layer2 projects. Adding to this, all infrastructure and ecosystem projects have deeply learned the token staking strategy pioneered by Blur, demanding users to stake tokens within the project. This mode, which benefits whales in three ways (interest, ETH or BTC appreciation, and free tokens), further compresses on-chain liquidity.
In the past bull markets, funds would only flow within a few to a dozen public chains, even concentrating mainly on Ethereum. Now, funds are dispersed across hundreds of public chains and staked in thousands of similar projects, leading to a decline in on-chain activity. Even Ethereum lacks on-chain activity. As a result, Eastern players engage in PVP in the BTC ecosystem, while Western players do so in Solana, out of necessity.
Therefore, my current focus is on how to promote aggregated liquidity across all chains and support the emergence of new playstyles and super applications. In the cross-chain interoperability sector, traditional leading projects have consistently underperformed, still resembling traditional cross-chain bridges. New interoperability solutions we discussed in previous reports primarily aim to aggregate multiple chains into a single chain. Examples include AggLayer, Superchain, Elastic Chain, JAM, etc., which will not be elaborated on here. In summary, cross-chain aggregation is a necessary hurdle in modular infrastructure but will take a long time to overcome.
ZK Coprocessors are a critical piece in the current phase. They can strengthen Layer2 and complement Layer1. Is there a way to temporarily overcome cross-chain and trilemma issues, allowing us to realize some current-era applications on certain Layer1s or Layer2s with extensive liquidity? After all, blockchain applications lack fresh narratives. Furthermore, enabling diverse playstyles, gas control, large-scale applications, cross-chain capabilities, and reducing user barriers through integrated coprocessor solutions might be more ideal than relying on centralization.
The ZK Coprocessor field emerged around 2023 and has become relatively mature at this stage. According to Messari’s classification, this field currently encompasses three major vertical domains (general computing, interoperability and cross-chain, AI and machine training) with 18 projects. Most of these projects are supported by leading VCs. Below, we describe several projects from different vertical domains.
Giza is a zkML (zero-knowledge machine learning) protocol deployed on Starknet, officially supported by StarkWare. It focuses on enabling AI models to be verifiably used in blockchain smart contracts. Developers can deploy AI models on the Giza network, which then verifies the correctness of model inference through zero-knowledge proofs and provides the results to smart contracts in a trustless manner. This allows developers to build on-chain applications that combine AI capabilities while maintaining the decentralization and verifiability of the blockchain.
Giza completes the workflow through the following three steps:
Giza’s approach allows AI models to serve as trusted input sources for smart contracts without relying on centralized oracles or trusted execution environments. This opens up new possibilities for blockchain applications, such as AI-based asset management, fraud detection, and dynamic pricing. It is one of the few projects in the current Web3 x AI space with a logical closed loop and a clever use of coprocessors in the AI field.
Risc Zero is a leading coprocessor project supported by multiple top VCs. It focuses on enabling any computation to be verifiably executed in blockchain smart contracts. Developers can write programs in Rust and deploy them on the RISC Zero network. RISC Zero then verifies the correctness of program execution through zero-knowledge proofs and provides the results to smart contracts in a trustless manner. This allows developers to build complex on-chain applications while maintaining the decentralization and verifiability of the blockchain.
We briefly mentioned the deployment and workflow earlier. Here, we detail two key components:
Risc Zero has integrated with multiple ETH Layer2 solutions and demonstrated various use cases for Bonsai. One interesting example is Bonsai Pay. This demonstration uses RISC Zero’s zkVM and Bonsai proof service, allowing users to send or withdraw ETH and tokens on Ethereum using their Google accounts. It showcases how RISC Zero can seamlessly integrate on-chain applications with OAuth2.0 (the standard used by major identity providers like Google), providing a use case that lowers the Web3 user barrier through traditional Web2 applications. Other examples include applications based on DAOs.
=nil; is an investment project supported by renowned entities such as Mina, Polychain, Starkware, and Blockchain Capital. Notably, zk technology pioneers like Mina and Starkware are among the backers, indicating high technical recognition for the project. =nil; was also mentioned in our report “The Computing Power Market,” primarily focusing on the Proof Market (a decentralized proof generation market). Additionally, =nil; has another sub-product called zkLLVM.
zkLLVM, developed by the =nil; Foundation, is an innovative circuit compiler that automatically converts application code written in mainstream programming languages such as C++ and Rust into efficient, provable circuits for Ethereum without the need for specialized zero-knowledge domain-specific languages (DSL). This significantly simplifies the development process, lowers the entry barrier, and improves performance by avoiding zkVM. It supports hardware acceleration to speed up proof generation, making it suitable for various ZK application scenarios such as rollups, cross-chain bridges, oracles, machine learning, and gaming. It is closely integrated with =nil; Foundation’s Proof Market, providing developers with end-to-end support from circuit creation to proof generation.
Brevis is a sub-project of Celer Network and is a smart zero-knowledge (ZK) coprocessor for blockchain, enabling dApps to access, compute, and utilize arbitrary data across multiple blockchains in a fully trustless manner. Like other coprocessors, Brevis has a wide range of use cases, such as data-driven DeFi, zkBridges, on-chain user acquisition, zkDID, and social account abstraction.
Brevis architecture consists of three main components:
With this modular architecture, Brevis can provide all supported public blockchain smart contracts with a trustless, efficient, and flexible access method. UNI’s V4 version also adopts this project and integrates it with Hooks (a system for integrating various user custom logic) to facilitate reading historical blockchain data, reduce gas fees, while ensuring decentralization. This is an example of a zk coprocessor promoting a DEX.
Lagrange is an interoperability zk coprocessor protocol led by 1kx and Founders Fund, primarily aimed at providing trustless cross-chain interoperability and supporting applications requiring large-scale data complex computation. Unlike traditional node bridges, Lagrange’s cross-chain interoperability is mainly achieved through its innovative ZK Big Data and State Committee mechanisms.
Lagrange has already integrated with EigenLayer, Mantle, Base, Frax, Polymer, LayerZero, Omni, AltLayer, among others, and will be the first ZK AVS to link within the Ethereum ecosystem.
YBB is a web3 fund dedicating itself to identify Web3-defining projects with a vision to create a better online habitat for all internet residents. Founded by a group of blockchain believers who have been actively participated in this industry since 2013, YBB is always willing to help early-stage projects to evolve from 0 to 1.We value innovation, self-driven passion, and user-oriented products while recognizing the potential of cryptos and blockchain applications.
References:
1.ABCDE:A Deep Dive into ZK Coprocessor and Its Future:https://medium.com/ABCDE.com/en-abcde-a-deep-dive-into-zk-coprocessor-and-its-future-1d1b3f33f946
2.“ZK” Is All You Need:https://medium.com/gate_ventures/zk-is-all-you-need-238886062c52
3.Risc zero:https://www.risczero.com/bonsai
4.Lagrange:https://www.lagrange.dev/blog/interoperability-for-modular-blockchains-the-lagrange-thesis
5.AxiomBlog:https://blog.axiom.xyz/
6.Nitrogen Acceleration! How ZK Coprocessor Breaks Down Smart Contract Data Barriers:https://foresightnews.pro/article/detail/48239
This article is reprinted from [medium], Forward the Original Title‘The GPU of Blockchain: Comprehensive Analysis of ZK Coprocessors’, All copyrights belong to the original author [YBB Capital Researcher Zeke]. If there are objections to this reprint, please contact the Gate Learn team, and they will handle it promptly.
Liability Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not constitute any investment advice.
Translations of the article into other languages are done by the Gate Learn team. Unless mentioned, copying, distributing, or plagiarizing the translated articles is prohibited.