Crypto startup Space and Time, based in California, has launched an advanced zero-knowledge (ZK) prover, Proof of SQL, designed to enhance on-chain transaction efficiency.
Previously available only to a few clients during its alpha phase last August, this high-speed ZK prover is now open to the public.
ZK provers play a vital role in cryptographic system privacy by allowing users to verify data or transactions without exposing additional information. However, they have been criticized for slowing down transaction execution.
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Dr. Jay White, co-founder and head of research at Space and Time, explained the innovation behind Proof of SQL:
Our team pioneered sub-second ZK-proofs so that smart contracts and AI agents can ask questions about a chain's activity, as well as off-chain data, and receive back trustless SQL query results on-chain during a transaction without having to wait for 30-minute proof times.
Furthermore, Proof of SQL offers a more optimized processing architecture for large-scale operations than traditional zk-Virtual Machines (zkVMs) and co-processors. Proof of SQL can process queries involving over 100,000 rows in less than a second using a single GPU unit. This allows faster and more extensive task execution when integrated into zkVMs on blockchains like Ethereum (ETH).
The launch of this new ZK prover represents a leap forward in blockchain technology. By reducing query times and enhancing processing efficiency, this innovation has the potential to revolutionize DeFi and on-chain transactions.
In other news, Vitalik Buterin has recently suggested using ZK technology for "likes" on Farcaster, an Ethereum-based decentralized social media.
