To take on this project, submit a proposal to this thread by June 28. Read more about Missions here.
Implementing a zero knowledge proof (ZKP) for OP Chains is a prerequisite to enable secure and low latency cross chain communication between L2 and L1, as well as directly between OP Chains. A ZKP for a well-supported instruction set architecture (ISA) that can prove the Optimism fault proof program acts as the foundation for a system that can prove any OP Stack based blockchain.
Completing this mission means implementing a zero knowledge proof (ZKP) system that can prove the Optimism fault proof program using an instruction set architecture (ISA) supported by the golang compiler such as MIPS, RISC-V, or WASM. This proof system must additionally be shown to work in practice by proving the state transition between two blocks for a standard configuration OP Stack chain.
Support for the fault proof program introduces additional requirements on top of proving a standard execution trace for an ISA. Specifically, the fault proof program introduces the notion of the preimage oracle which uses special system calls to load external data into the program. Every fault proof vm is responsible for implementing some mechanism by which the hash of some data is placed at a particular location in memory, a syscall is executed, and the preimage for that hash is then loaded into memory for the program to utilize. The preimage oracle is also used to bootstrap the program with initial inputs. Please refer to the preimage oracle section of the fault proof program documentation for further information.
For this Mission, the Optimism Foundation will accept up to three submissions. Multiple parallel attempts at creating an OP Stack ZKP will increase chances of success and provide some friendly competition for building the best OP Stack ZKP.
Due to the wide design space, each solution will be evaluated based upon a few Solution Criteria. Due to the scope of this project, this RFP is not expected to be completed within governance Season 4 (June through September). Specific timelines will be discussed with each team that makes a submission.
The target grant payout for each submission will be 250k OP. Teams should discuss the solution criteria below with the Foundation, and may arrive at a different mutually agreeable grant amount dependent on the scope of their work.
Proposals should include their target architecture and explicitly call out any tradeoffs their approach may have. Multiple proposals which select different tradeoffs may be accepted as each one can have their uses and bring value to the ecosystem.
Progress can be measured based upon the completion of the following milestones:
These milestones mark the completion of the proposal.
Once the proposal has been completed, a final major milestone is the adoption of the ZKP by Optimism Governance. At this point the ZKP may be voted in as a default option in the Superchain bridge, making it a core component of the OP Stack. This is outside of the scope of this proposal but is included here to illustrate the critical importance of this Mission and the massive impact these proofs may have.
To apply for this RFP, please complete the form in the expandable section below and leave your response as a comment on this issue thread below. Submissions will be open until June 28, at which time the Foundation will review all submissions and select up to three individuals/teams to complete the work defined here.
Submission form
Copy the entire application below and leave a comment on this issue with your answers completed. A representative from the Optimism Foundation may reach out using the contact info provided to request more information as necessary.
Please verify that you meet the qualifications for submitting at the above Tier
Read more about Alliances here
What makes your Alliance best-suited to execute this Mission?
Please describe your proposed solution based on the above Solution Criteria (if applicable):
Please outline your step-by-step plan to execute this Mission, including expected deadlines to complete each peice of work:
Please define the critical milestone(s) that should be used to determine whether you’ve executed on this proposal:
Please list any additional support your team would require to execute this mission (financial, technical, etc.):
Grants are awarded in OP, locked for one year. Please let us know if access to upfront capital is a barrier to completing your Mission and you would like to be considered for a small upfront cash grant: (Note: there is no guarantee that approved Missions will receive up-front cash grants.)
Please check the following to make sure you understand the terms of the Optimism Foundation RFP program:
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