Vitalik Buterin has introduced Circle STARKs, a new cryptographic protocol designed to enhance blockchain security and efficiency by using smaller fields to boost proving speed and reduce computational costs.
Points
- Vitalik Buterin introduces Circle STARKs for improved blockchain security.
- Smaller fields boost proving speed and efficiency.
- Circle STARKs mitigate brute-force attacks with multiple random checks.
- Enables verifying 620,000 Poseidon2 hashes per second on an M3 laptop.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has introduced Circle STARKs, a new cryptographic protocol aimed at enhancing blockchain security and efficiency. Circle STARKs use smaller fields to boost proving speed and efficiency, significantly improving the security of blockchain operations.
Addressing Security Concerns
Previous STARK implementations made smaller fields naturally compatible with verifying elliptic curve-based signatures but led to inefficiency due to large numbers. Traditional small fields have limited possible values, making them susceptible to brute-force attacks. Circle STARKs counter this vulnerability by performing multiple random checks and using extension fields. This expands the set of values attackers need to guess, creating a computationally prohib