Co-processor: The Application and Prospects of ZK Technology in the Blockchain Field

In the traditional computing field, a coprocessor is a processing unit that assists the CPU in handling specific tasks. For example, the GPU, as a graphics coprocessor, greatly enhances the computer's graphics rendering capabilities. By offloading some of the work from the CPU, the coprocessor optimizes the overall system performance.

The Ethereum network currently faces two main challenges: expensive Gas fees limit application development, and smart contracts can only access a limited amount of on-chain data. These issues severely hinder the widespread adoption of Blockchain applications.

To address these issues, the industry has proposed a co-processor solution based on zero-knowledge proof technology ( ZK ). The ZK co-processor can perform complex calculations and data processing off-chain, generating proofs that can be verified on-chain. This allows Ethereum to maintain its role as a settlement layer while expanding its application scenarios.

Currently, ZK co-processors are mainly applied in areas such as on-chain data indexing, oracles, and ZKML. Representative projects include Risc Zero, Lagrange, and Succinct. These projects differ in their technical approaches but are all committed to building a general-purpose, high-performance ZK virtual machine.

Compared to Layer2 scaling solutions, ZK co-processors focus more on providing verifiable off-chain computational capabilities for applications. They can serve as a virtual machine component of Layer2 or directly provide services for applications on public blockchains.

Although ZK co-processors have great potential, they still face some challenges, such as high development thresholds, complex performance optimization, and insufficient hardware support. However, with the continuous advancement of technology, ZK co-processors are expected to reshape the development paradigm of Blockchain applications in the future, paving the way for large-scale applications of Web3.