Space and Time introduces new ZK prover with subsecond capabilities
California-based startup Space and Time has unveiled a cutting-edge ZK prover to enhance on-chain transactions and the growth of decentralized finance (defi).
Known as Space and Time (SxT), this specially designed computing layer has now made its sub-second zero-knowledge (ZK) prover stack, known as Proof of SQL, accessible to the public. Previously, this ZK-proof system was only available to select SxT clients in alpha stage back in August of last year.
The necessity for ZK provers stems from the demand for privacy, a key aspect of cryptographic technology. ZK models allow users to prove the validity of data or transactions without revealing any additional information.
Prominent web3 developers, including Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin, have emphasized the importance of ZK stacks in the creation of reliable decentralized finance ecosystems. This technology is vital for ensuring secure on-chain interactions for smart contract protocols and end-users, despite the occasional slowdown in execution that ZK proofs may cause.
SxT’s co-founder and head of research, Dr. Jay White, explained that the Proof of SQL program was developed to allow smart contracts and AI agents to query a chain’s activity and off-chain data, receiving trustless SQL query results on-chain instantly during a transaction, eliminating the need for lengthy proof times.
This web3 data warehouse claims that its Proof of SQL offers a more optimized processing structure for large-scale operations compared to traditional zk-Virtual Machines and co-processors.
According to SxT and Dr. White, the ZK prover successfully executed queries for tables with over 100,000 rows in under a second on a single GPU. This model can be integrated into zkVMs on blockchains like Ethereum (ETH) to achieve faster speeds and handle more complex tasks.
For further reading, check out: The importance of confidentiality in a decentralized internet | Opinion.
