What is ZK-STARK?

One of the hottest new technologies to emerge from the cryptocurrency industry is zk-STARK technology. This system combines Cairo and STARK to build application-specific ZK Rollups. Developed by StarkWare, it has already processed transactions worth more than $250 billion. It also uses the StarkEx protocol, which can deploy two modes: zk-Rollups and Validium. It also supports Web3-compatible key generation and enables Ethereum nodes to integrate MetaMask through its Validium protocol.

Currently, there are three main types of ZK proofs: Bulletproofs, zk-SNARK, and STARK zk-rollups. Bulletproofs are less secure than STARK and do not require trusted settings. STARK uses publicly verifiable randomness to create a verifiable, untrusted computing system. However, STARK is faster and can resist quantum attacks. In the future, zk-STARK will replace trusted settings altogether.

The ZK-STARKs will be a step up from the zk-SNARKs and will remove the need for trust. As a result, STARKs zk-Rollups could replace the “master key” requirement for zero knowledge blockchains. Although it’s still a bit early to say for sure, it looks like ZK-STARKs will make the transition to the blockchain more seamless and secure.

StarkWare is one of the key players in the zk-Rollups space. Based on STARK, the team is working on zero-knowledge proof scaling solutions. However, compared to zk-SNARK, zk-STARK does not work with the EVM. It has developed its own programming language for autonomous programs powered by STARK. And StarkWare is currently working with the Nethermind team to create a transcoder for Solidity smart contracts.