zkVMs: SP1 vs RISC0

zkVMs treat the zero-knowledge prover as a compiler target instead of a circuit library. Write your logic in Rust, compile to RISC-V, prove the execution trace.

SP1 from Succinct and RISC0 are the two most deployed examples. Both share the same top-level pitch but take different routes under the hood: SP1 leans on PLONKish arithmetization with heavy precompile support and a STARK-backed continuation model, while RISC0 pushes FRI-based STARKs all the way through with its own custom circuit library.

Precompiles for sha256, keccak, bn254 pairings and ed25519 are what make these systems usable - a naive pure-RISC-V proof of a signature verification is hopelessly slow. The zkVM wave is the closest the field has come to a developer experience that does not require circuit specialists.