zkDaily - 2026-03-10

零知识证明 zkDaily

ZKP Frontier Tracker 🎯

Tue

03.10

2026

Zolt

OSS

https://github.com/MatteoMer/zolt

MatteoMer Zig Jolt

@MatteoMer released Zolt, a Zig-based zkVM prover generating proofs verifiable by the a16z/jolt verifier, with zero dependencies and all cryptography implemented from scratch.

Notes

Zolt is experimental and unaudited; not for production use.
Generates ZK proofs for RISC-V ELF binaries, verifiable by upstream Jolt verifier.
Zero dependencies and FFI; all cryptography implemented from scratch using Zig stdlib.
CLI includes proof generation, emulator run, and examples (e.g., Fibonacci, prime counting).
Benchmarks show faster than Jolt (Rust) on some programs, slower on complex ones like prime counting.
Clear project structure with modules for field arithmetic, polynomial commitments, Sumcheck, etc., aiding extensibility and audit.

Collected by @icerdesign

零知识证明 zkDaily

Q&A Deep Dive 💬

Tue

03.10

2026

Why does Zolt emphasize zero dependencies?

Zolt avoids external cryptographic libraries and implements components such as field arithmetic, MSM, and polynomial commitments directly in Zig. This makes the system simpler and easier to study, especially for researchers learning how zkVM proving systems work.

How does Zolt turn program execution into something provable?

Zolt runs a RISC-V program and records an execution trace including registers and memory states. The trace is converted into an R1CS constraint system. The prover then uses sum-check and polynomial commitments to prove that the constraints hold for the entire trace.

Why does Zolt export Jolt compatible preprocessing data?

Jolt uses a preprocessing SNARK design where constraint commitments and metadata are prepared in advance. Zolt exports preprocessing data in the same format so that the original verifier can validate proofs without any modification.

Prompted by @icerdesign