Web3Caff founder Gootor has shared an important perspective. Here are some additional insights:

Ethereum is shifting toward ZK technology, and ZK provers require hardware acceleration, making ZK mining potentially a new type of PoW, similar to Bitcoin mining. Ethereum’s economic model may evolve into a combination of PoS and PoW, forming a “hybrid consensus” model.

Let’s break down the underlying logic of this idea.

@GootorX @web3caff_zh @Web3Caff_Res

1. Ethereum is Moving Towards ZK Technology

Zero-knowledge proof (ZK) is a technology that allows one party to prove to another that a statement is true without revealing any additional information. It has significant potential.

In the blockchain space, ZK technology is mainly used for scaling purposes. Vitalik Buterin has strongly advocated ZK, and the Ethereum Foundation has invested in various ZK projects.

However, ZK-based projects are still in the foundational phase. Hence, the main direct experience for users right now is through ZK Rollups—Ethereum’s Layer 2 solutions based on ZK technology, such as zkSync, Starknet, Polygon zkEVM, Scroll, and Linea.

Ethereum itself is also gradually adopting ZK.

(1) ZKification of Consensus Layer (e.g., Beam Chain proposal): This involves streamlining the consensus process using ZK technology to enhance its speed and efficiency.

(2) ZKification of Data Layer: By storing only proofs and not all transaction data, Ethereum can significantly reduce the amount of on-chain data storage needed.

These changes will allow Ethereum to maintain decentralization and security while improving performance in terms of transaction speed, cost, and privacy.

ZK technology is part of Ethereum’s long-term strategy to scale and handle higher user demand and more complex applications.

2. Why Does ZK Require Hardware Integration?

Despite its advantages, ZK technology faces a significant challenge in the performance of generating Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs).

ZK allows verifiers to combine multiple transactions into a single proof, which is then submitted to the mainnet for scaling. However, the proof generation process is resource-intensive and slow.

It involves complex math, such as exponentiation, inversion, and bilinear pairing calculations. As a result, creating proofs can take a lot of time.

Software optimization alone cannot improve this speed, so hardware acceleration is needed. By using specialized hardware, the proof generation time can be drastically reduced from hours to seconds, marking a huge improvement.

Thus, ZK is hardware-dependent and requires specialized chips.

As ZKPs gain more application in fields like privacy computing and blockchain scaling, the speed and efficiency of generating ZKPs have become bottlenecks, leading to a growing demand for hardware solutions.

3. How Can PoS and ZK Mining Be Combined?

By integrating ZK hardware acceleration, a new economic model of hardware mining emerges.

What is ZK mining?

In traditional PoW mining, participants solve complex problems, whereas ZK mining focuses on quickly generating ZKPs. Participants compete to generate ZKPs, and the first to create a valid proof wins a reward.

So how could PoS and ZK be combined?

In PoS systems, validators (stakers) verify transactions and propose blocks. ZK proofs could be used to verify the correctness of blocks or transactions, enhancing security and reducing verification costs.

Validators would generate ZKPs as extra proof of their work while performing their PoS duties. Those who generate and submit valid ZKPs could earn additional rewards, on top of the standard block rewards.

These rewards could come in the form of ETH or other internal tokens.

The overall block reward structure could be divided into two parts: one part for traditional PoS validation and the other for contributions to ZKP generation.

In this way, ZK enhances PoS validation, and ZK mining extends PoS staking.

Stakers could earn additional rewards by contributing to ZK efforts, such as running ZKP generation nodes.

However, integrating ZK into Ethereum’s PoS system would require adjustments to the existing protocol to accommodate the new role of ZK proofs, and a fair incentive model would need to be designed to balance PoS rewards with ZK contributions.

4. Will ZK Mining Introduce Positive Externalities?

After Ethereum’s transition from PoW to PoS, one of the biggest criticisms was the lack of externalities being introduced into this “closed” economic system.

PoW is inherently external, as it requires energy and hardware, thus extending blockchain economic activities beyond the blockchain, and impacting the real world.

In a PoS system, the eligibility to validate blocks is mainly based on the number of tokens held (i.e., staked tokens), and economic activities are more focused on staking and internal network transactions, unlike PoW, which involves external industries such as mining hardware production and electricity markets.

ZK accelerated hardware, like PoW mining rigs, also requires specialized hardware, but the problem of “inefficient power consumption” is reduced because PoW requires solving mathematical problems to compete for block rights, whereas ZK mining generates valid proofs to verify transactions without redundant labour across different nodes.

5. AI and ZK Power Sharing

Looking further ahead, a ZK computation power market could emerge, even enabling AI computation power to be shared with ZK power.

Platforms offering integrated computing services may emerge, supporting both AI tasks and ZK proof generation tasks.

Users could handle both high-performance AI tasks and ZK proof generation tasks on the same platform.

On the protocol level, integration could occur by creating smart contracts or protocols that allow AI power providers to participate in ZK proof generation or use ZK technology to verify AI computations.

Computation resources could also be dynamically allocated based on task requirements. For example, when AI task demand is low, resources could be allocated to generate ZK proofs, and vice versa.

6. Key Players in ZK Hardware Acceleration

Currently, the leading project in ZK hardware acceleration is Cysic. @cysic_xyz

Cysic focuses on designing and producing Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), and GPU acceleration solutions to speed up ZKP generation.

Cysic has developed two hardware products:

1. ZK Air: A lightweight ZK device roughly the size of a laptop power adapter, with computing power equivalent to 10 RTX 4090 GPUs, ideal for individual users.
2. ZK Pro: A more powerful device with computing power equivalent to 50 RTX 4090 GPUs, designed for large ZK projects like zkRollup and zkML.

In addition to hardware, Cysic also provides a set of CUDA libraries that support multiple ZKP systems such as Plonky2, Gnark, Halo2, RapidSnark, etc., significantly improving performance—at least a 50% improvement over open-source frameworks.

Cysic also has an ecosystem, Cysic Network, aimed at integrating and managing community computing resources, connecting ZK projects, power providers, and community validators, forming a reliable computing power network.

In simple terms, Cysic Network acts as a ZK mining pool and SaaS platform.

Currently, Cysic has collaborated with multiple zkRollup projects, demonstrating the practicality and market demand for its products.

Besides Cysic, another notable project to mention is Scroll.

Surprisingly, Scroll—once criticized and notorious—has made significant strides in ZK hardware acceleration.

Compared to other ZK Rollup projects, Scroll has taken a different path by developing specialized ZK acceleration hardware (GUP), creating its own competitive barrier. This is Scroll’s biggest differentiating advantage.

However, Cysic and Scroll are positioned differently: for Scroll, hardware acceleration is part of its Layer2 solution, while Cysic is dedicated to providing hardware acceleration services to the entire ZKP ecosystem.

7. Conclusion

1）Ethereum is undergoing ZKification: Ethereum is introducing Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZK) technology to scale and improve privacy. ZK technology is applied in both the consensus and data layers to enhance network performance.

2）ZK requires hardware acceleration: Since generating ZKPs consumes significant computational resources, hardware acceleration (e.g., ASIC, FPGA) is considered essential to improve efficiency.

3）Combining PoS and ZK Mining: A new economic model is proposed, where ZK mining expands PoS. Stakers earn additional rewards by providing ZK computational power, creating a coexistence of PoS and PoW.

4）ZK Mining introduces new positive externalities: Compared to PoW, ZK mining reduces wasted energy consumption. However, it still requires specialized hardware, stimulating hardware production and technological innovation.

5）AI and ZK Power Sharing: AI and ZK computing tasks could share hardware resources, forming an integrated computing service market.

6）Market-leading projects: Cysic and Scroll are leading players in ZK hardware acceleration. Cysic focuses on providing hardware for the ZK ecosystem, while Scroll incorporates hardware acceleration into its Layer2 solution.

In summary, the ZK hardware acceleration track is emerging, and as Ethereum continues its ZKification, ZK hardware acceleration will become even more important. This could even reverse Ethereum’s economic model, making it an area worth continuing to follow.

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