Vitalik Buterin Drops Game-Changer: GKR Protocol Slashes ZK Proof Times

Ethereum's co-founder just fired the starting gun on zero-knowledge's next evolution.

The GKR Protocol—unveiled today—could be the missing piece for mainstream ZK-rollup adoption. Early benchmarks show 40% faster proof generation versus current methods.

Wall Street's reaction? Probably still trying to explain their 'blockchain initiatives' from 2022.

Buterin’s Example and Broader Context

Buterin clarified that the GKR protocol facilitates more effective Poseidon2 hash function checks. There are numerous mathematical steps in this procedure, such as polynomial checks and matrix computations. GKR allows these steps to run at the same time, which speeds things up. Each round simplifies the work further until only the final results need to be compared with the original data.

On X, Buterin also emphasized the need for measurable performance transparency in ZK systems. “I wish more ZK and FHE people WOULD give their overhead as a ratio,” he said, underscoring the importance of comparing cryptographic and raw computation times.

Besides GKR, in an X post, Buterin recently discussed Fusaka, Ethereum’s upcoming fix for blob congestion through PeerDAS. This system lets nodes verify massive datasets without downloading them.

Fusaka will fix this.

But also, safety first is of the utmost importance for Fusaka. The Core feature, PeerDAS, is trying to do something pretty unprecedented: have a live blockchain that does not require any single node to download the full data.

The way PeerDAS works is that… https://t.co/go6QsqjaFC

The GKR protocol is quietly reshaping how Ethereum handles complex math behind its security. Cutting down on heavy computation, lets ordinary devices handle verification tasks that once needed powerful setups. This shift could make Ethereum’s technology more practical and sustainable for everyday use in the long run.

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