Home > Tooling & Applications > RISC-Zero
RISC Zero¶
Description¶
A zkVM that lets developers write standard Rust programs compiled to a RISC-V target and prove their execution using zk-STARKs. No circuit DSL needed. Ideal for complex credential parsing (e.g., ASN.1 in ePassports). The verifier uses WASM; the prover runs server-side. Has security audits.
Evaluation¶
| Criterion | Value |
|---|---|
| Based on | zk-STARKs |
| Easiness | easy to medium — write standard Rust, no circuit DSL |
| Fast and short (<1s, <1MB) | prover fast; proof sizes larger (STARK-based) |
| Post-quantum | yes |
| Mobile and web | yes — verifier uses WASM, prover runs on server |
| Maintained | yes — very active |
| Open source | yes |
| Security review | yes — https://github.com/risc0/rz-security/tree/main/audits |
| secp256k1 signature + sha256 | yes |
Notes¶
Verification mechanism not fully understood by C4DT. The zkVM approach is excellent for ergonomics when parsing complex data structures but proof sizes are larger than circuit-based approaches.