Zero Knowledge Virtual Machines (zkVMs) are environments powered by ZK proofs that are capable of verifying data to be accurate without revealing it using complex math. I took a look at some existing zkVM systems to see how they could be applied to businesses irl. A thread

SP1 by @Succinct - large scale data analysis. This VM is compatible with data analytics languages like Rust, and offers fast finality for (near) real-time results. It's capable of cheap/fast proof generation with a simple pipeline to integrate legacy Web2 systems.

RiscZero @RISC Zero - private software verification. If a business wants to verify that a piece of code works as expected without revealing any specific firmware, they can generate a proof that reveals the execution to be correct. This will remove the need for any trust assumptions and can verify results to be accurate without revealing sensitive info.

Jolt by @a16z crypto - high throughput pipelines. Jolt offers GPU acceleration, which means it's capable of processing large batches of transactions quickly. Very useful if a business needs to verify frequent or large volumes of transactions without lag.

Delphinus by @Delphinus Lab - cross platform applications. This system is built on a WebAssembly Virtual Machine (WASM), meaning it's natively compatible with tons of different systems and languages. This can be useful for businesses that want to generate cryptographic proofs to verify their data that can also be replicated across different platforms.

Nexus VM by @Nexus - EVM transaction aggregation. Nexus VM is able to run a script that processes a group of transactions, trace each one, and then combine them into one verified proof. This can be useful for apps that perform a bunch of small transactions by grouping them together and verifying all of them at once.

Powdr by @powdr labs - modular applications. Powdr has the ability to seamlessly switch between different zk proof generation systems based on specific needs. This can be useful for businesses focused on zk research that need to constantly switch between provers.

ZK has come a long way, and I believe that within the next few years, many non-Web3 native businesses will recognize its privacy preservation capabilities and begin to integrate them into their own systems. Here's a great article by @K ⟠ 🧲 that discusses the more technical benchmarks of each of these systems: https://x.com/Kautukkundan/status/1867589273446232368…