Technical Content
zkVMs, Circuits, and the Optimization Game
Mauro Toscano, Aligned co-founder and CTO, explores the engineering tradeoffs between ZK circuits and zkVMs and how to think about designing and building these systems
Aligned Core
Why Aligned Chose Ethrex as the Rollup Stack for Our RaaS Platform
Aligned’s Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS) platform will soon give teams everything they need to access Ethereum’s trust by making rollup deployment as easy as any web2 service. We’re making based ZK-rollups accessible to anyone—so you can focus on your business case.We chose Ethrex as the stack for
Technical Content
What is a zkVM and why should you care about them?
You've probably heard the term zkVM buzzing around lately, especially in the context of ZK-rollups and scaling Ethereum. This guide is meant to demystify them so you can understand what they are, how they work (at a high level), why you should care about them, and what their
Technical Content
Alternatives to re-execution
The goal of blockchains Blockchain technology has emerged to provide a decentralized and secure way to record and verify transactions across a distributed network of participants. The main objective is to eliminate the need for intermediaries, by enabling peer-to-peer transactions. This is achieved through cryptographic techniques that ensure the integrity
Technical Content
Neutral, standardized benchmarking of zkVM proving times
Zero-knowledge virtual machines (zkVMs) are virtual machines that let you write and execute code in common languages like Rust or C and generate proofs demonstrating the integrity of computations. This makes building with ZK much more accessible to developers, and is a key part of Ethereum’s scaling roadmap. While
Technical Content
The Future of Blockchains: Intent-Based Architectures with Zero-Knowledge Proofs
Introduction The evolution of decentralized applications (dApps) depends on a shift from programmable settlement to intent-based architectures. These systems redefine how applications are built, focusing on generalized intents—high-level expressions of desired outcomes. By leveraging zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and succinct validity proofs, intent-based architectures offer transformative advantages in scalability, privacy,
Technical Content
Design Strategies: How to Construct A Hashing Mode?
Recap In our previous blog, we explored the fundamental properties of cryptographic hash functions (CHFs) and discussed their crucial role in maintaining the integrity and security of data with 3MI Labs. In this post, we delve into the architectural strategies behind hash functions. These strategies, or modes of operation, are
Technical Content
Introduction: Hash functions in Cryptography
Cryptographic Hash Functions (CHF) are fundamental to securing the digital world. From protecting passwords to enabling blockchain and zero-knowledge (ZK) systems, CHFs play a crucial role in ensuring the integrity, security, and privacy of data. This blog is the first in a series where we’ll explore the world of
Technical Content
A Series On Hash Functions
The development and use of integrity/zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs has accelerated over the past few years. The introduction of general purpose ZK virtual machines, which allow us to write and prove Rust code, has made developing verifiable applications easier and faster. We have blockchains like Mina that prove every block
Technical Content
Introduction to Polynomial Commitment Schemes (PCS)
Polynomial commitment schemes (PCS) are at the core of proof systems. They determine key properties such as proof size, verification time, and whether the system is post-quantum secure. The Kate-Zaverucha-Goldberg (KZG) is a popular PCS, first appearing in 2010. Learn more: Polynomial commitment schemes allow us to commit to a
Technical Content
Plonk: A Mathematical Overview of this Proof System
Plonk is one of the most widely used proof systems. It is at the core of the proof systems used by ZKsync, Mina, Halo2 (by Zcash), Plonky2 (Polygon), and Succinct Labs SP1’s compression proof, gnark, due to its versatility and efficient prover. Since it's introduction, the Plonk
Technical Content
Mina to Ethereum Bridge
Mina is a layer 1 (L1) blockchain that uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) to maintain its size at 22 kB. Its vibrant community and technology make it unique and developers and users from other ecosystems could benefit from their interaction with Mina. To this end, Aligned will support the technology needed