Zero-knowledge systems are quickly moving from research to production, and the industry is converging around a core assumption: ZK is the cryptographic foundation for how trustless systems will operate at scale.
This past week, ZKM released zkMIPS 1.0 - the first production-ready zkVM built on the MIPS32r2 architecture. It delivers up to 19x faster proving over its prior version and outperforms other major zkVMs on CPU benchmarks across standard workloads. But beyond performance, what matters is where zkMIPS 1.0 is being deployed: Ethereum and Bitcoin. In both ecosystems, it’s being primed to enable trust-minimized execution with real-world stakes and real-time constraints.
@ethereumfndn has made it clear: zero-knowledge proofs will become a native part of its consensus in the long term. The @eth_proofs initiative is the testbed for that future, shaping up to be the most important benchmarking environment for zkVMs. With over 20 zkVMs now lining up to participate, @ethereum is about to become the proving ground for verifiable compute infrastructure.
ZKM is one of the few teams already submitting proofs of Ethereum mainnet blocks through EthProofs, and zkMIPS 1.0 is now fully integrated. The proving architecture supports Groth16, PLONK, and compressed STARKs, giving flexibility across verification cost, recursion compatibility, and hardware environments.
Upcoming GPU prover support and circuit improvements are expected to drive proof time and cost even lower - opening the door to real-time proving of Ethereum L1 execution.
At the same time, zkMIPS 1.0 is live on @GOATRollup - a Bitcoin Layer 2 that uses BitVM2 and zkMIPS to provide sustainable, native BTC yield through a fully trust-minimized decentralized sequencer and execution architecture.
Bitcoin has long lacked credible L2 systems with native BTC security. BitVM2 changes this: enabling arbitrary computation on Bitcoin without L1 changes. But it’s only viable in practice when paired with a performant, stable zkVM. That’s where zkMIPS comes in.
GOAT BitVM2, introduced this week, solves key production challenges - double-spend risk, slow challenge resolution, and misaligned incentives - by combining zkMIPS proofs with a decentralized sequencer layer and a fully cryptoeconomically secure challenge protocol. The result: finality in under 24 hours and a real path to native Bitcoin execution.
While zkMIPS was built for generality, its supporting infrastructure has been engineered with two specific outcomes in mind.
Ethereum’s roadmap demands scale, modularity, and recursive efficiency. Bitcoin’s demands native settlement, minimal trust, and economic security. zkMIPS 1.0 is built to meet both.
The team has repeatedly chosen the more difficult path - opting for a mature fixed ISA (MIPS32r2) over the more popular but evolving RISC-V. That decision now shows its payoff: smaller programs, simpler constraint systems, and performance gains that translate directly into lower cost and higher speed.
More integrations are on the way - from Rollup upgrades to verifying AI systems - and the ZKM team shows no signs of slowing down.
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to start building with zkMIPS, this is it.
We're inviting developers to create zkMIPS-powered applications, contribute to the zkMIPS toolchain or example projects, and produce educational content to help onboard others.
This is your chance to help shape the zkVM ecosystem from the ground up.
Get started with zkMIPS 1.0: ZKM Docs
Build with zkMIPS 1.0: ZKM Github
Developer Track Submissions: ZKM Developer Track
Contact the ZKM team for support: ZKM Discord
Zero-knowledge systems are quickly moving from research to production, and the industry is converging around a core assumption: ZK is the cryptographic foundation for how trustless systems will operate at scale.
This past week, ZKM released zkMIPS 1.0 - the first production-ready zkVM built on the MIPS32r2 architecture. It delivers up to 19x faster proving over its prior version and outperforms other major zkVMs on CPU benchmarks across standard workloads. But beyond performance, what matters is where zkMIPS 1.0 is being deployed: Ethereum and Bitcoin. In both ecosystems, it’s being primed to enable trust-minimized execution with real-world stakes and real-time constraints.
@ethereumfndn has made it clear: zero-knowledge proofs will become a native part of its consensus in the long term. The @eth_proofs initiative is the testbed for that future, shaping up to be the most important benchmarking environment for zkVMs. With over 20 zkVMs now lining up to participate, @ethereum is about to become the proving ground for verifiable compute infrastructure.
ZKM is one of the few teams already submitting proofs of Ethereum mainnet blocks through EthProofs, and zkMIPS 1.0 is now fully integrated. The proving architecture supports Groth16, PLONK, and compressed STARKs, giving flexibility across verification cost, recursion compatibility, and hardware environments.
Upcoming GPU prover support and circuit improvements are expected to drive proof time and cost even lower - opening the door to real-time proving of Ethereum L1 execution.
At the same time, zkMIPS 1.0 is live on @GOATRollup - a Bitcoin Layer 2 that uses BitVM2 and zkMIPS to provide sustainable, native BTC yield through a fully trust-minimized decentralized sequencer and execution architecture.
Bitcoin has long lacked credible L2 systems with native BTC security. BitVM2 changes this: enabling arbitrary computation on Bitcoin without L1 changes. But it’s only viable in practice when paired with a performant, stable zkVM. That’s where zkMIPS comes in.
GOAT BitVM2, introduced this week, solves key production challenges - double-spend risk, slow challenge resolution, and misaligned incentives - by combining zkMIPS proofs with a decentralized sequencer layer and a fully cryptoeconomically secure challenge protocol. The result: finality in under 24 hours and a real path to native Bitcoin execution.
While zkMIPS was built for generality, its supporting infrastructure has been engineered with two specific outcomes in mind.
Ethereum’s roadmap demands scale, modularity, and recursive efficiency. Bitcoin’s demands native settlement, minimal trust, and economic security. zkMIPS 1.0 is built to meet both.
The team has repeatedly chosen the more difficult path - opting for a mature fixed ISA (MIPS32r2) over the more popular but evolving RISC-V. That decision now shows its payoff: smaller programs, simpler constraint systems, and performance gains that translate directly into lower cost and higher speed.
More integrations are on the way - from Rollup upgrades to verifying AI systems - and the ZKM team shows no signs of slowing down.
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to start building with zkMIPS, this is it.
We're inviting developers to create zkMIPS-powered applications, contribute to the zkMIPS toolchain or example projects, and produce educational content to help onboard others.
This is your chance to help shape the zkVM ecosystem from the ground up.
Get started with zkMIPS 1.0: ZKM Docs
Build with zkMIPS 1.0: ZKM Github
Developer Track Submissions: ZKM Developer Track
Contact the ZKM team for support: ZKM Discord
