zkVM from Scratch
ExperimentzkVM from Scratch is an educational journey into building a zero-knowledge virtual machine from first principles. This experiment guides you through creating a minimal but functional zkVM, demystifying the core concepts behind verifiable computation and zero-knowledge execution environments.
Starting with basic arithmetic circuits and building up to a complete instruction set, you'll learn how zkVMs enable private and verifiable computation. We cover constraint systems, witness generation, proving systems, and the architecture decisions that make zkVMs practical for real-world applications.
What you'll learn:
- Fundamentals of arithmetic circuits and constraint systems
- Designing a minimal instruction set for zkVM
- Witness generation and program execution
- Integration with proving systems (Groth16, PLONK, STARK)
- Optimization techniques for practical performance
- Building developer-friendly tooling around your zkVM
Perfect for developers who want to understand zkVMs at a deep level and researchers exploring new architectures for verifiable computation.