zkDaily - 2026-02-04

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ZKP Frontier Tracker 🎯

Wed

02.04

2026

Field-Agnostic SNARKs from Expand-Accumulate Codes

Paper

https://eprint.iacr.org/2024/1871

Alexander R. Block Brakedown

Block et al. proposed a field-agnostic SNARK based on expand-accumulate codes in their paper, addressing the limitation of existing schemes that rely on specific finite fields, with proof generation time as low as 0.23 seconds, two orders of magnitude faster than non-field-agnostic SNARKs.

Notes

Proposed a field-agnostic SNARK based on expand-accumulate codes, independent of specific finite fields
Key technical contribution: proved these codes have constant rate and relative distance, solving an open problem
Prover time O(M log M), proof size O(√M), with significant concrete efficiency improvements
ECDSA verification on secp256k1 requires only 0.23s proof generation, 100x faster than non-field-agnostic SNARKs
Compared to Brakedown, proof size reduced by 1.9-2.8x with only 1.2x overhead in prover time
Features transparent setup and plausible post-quantum security, suitable for various practical applications

Collected by @icerdesign

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Q&A Deep Dive 💬

Wed

02.04

2026

Why is being field-agnostic an important property for SNARKs?

Many real-world cryptographic algorithms operate over specific finite fields or curve scalar fields. Traditional SNARKs often require costly field embeddings. Field-agnostic SNARKs work directly over the native field, significantly reducing overhead.

Why is proving constant rate and relative distance for expand-accumulate codes important?

Constant rate and relative distance are crucial coding properties for efficient SNARKs. This result resolves a long-standing open problem and ensures proof size and soundness do not degrade as the system scales.

What does an O(M log M) prover complexity imply in practice?

This complexity avoids reliance on field-specific FFTs, making implementations more general and engineering-friendly. With small constants, it enables sub-second proofs even for complex circuits like ECDSA verification.

Prompted by @icerdesign