savage
Running Bitcoin ZK Knots, baby!
We've successfully run a POC verifying a STARK proof of Bitcoin's mainnet block #1 inside a modified Bitcoin Knots client.
The proof validates critical consensus rules:
- Timestamp
- Chain difficulty
- Block difficulty
- Proof of Work
Here’s the technical flow:
- A Cairo program defines the block header consensus rules & generates the execution trace: https://github.com/starkware-bitcoin/raito/blob/1cca29f0435ef74b34c8cca29f76393c7079b898/packages/assumevalid/src/lib.cairo#L49
- The STWO prover generates the STARK proof from the trace: https://github.com/starkware-libs/stwo-cairo
- A modified ProcessNewBlockHeaders function in Bitcoin Knots performs the proof verification: https://github.com/starkware-bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/c2505b4c9a3a420634de651220f76285e0b7ee64/src/validation.cpp#L4690
The main purpose of this POC was to test the integration of our Rust-based proving stack into the C++ codebase.
The ultimate vision? To improve Initial Block Download (IBD) dramatically by allowing the entire chain's validity to be verified with a single recursive proof.
Once Raito is fully equipped with recursive proving and strong performance, we'll be back to implement a full, real-world IBD with ZK verification enabled. Stay tuned!
Follow our StarkWare Bitcoin Github for updates: https://github.com/starkware-bitcoin/
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