In-depth explanation of Kakarot: zkEVM project favored and invested by Vitalik.

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23-06-12 21:00

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Introduction

Kakarot zkEVM is an implementation of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) written in Cairo. Cairo is a Turing-complete language associated with CairoVM. CairoVM utilizes polynomials and the ZK-STARK proof system to achieve verifiable computation.

The feature of zkEVM is the ability to generate provable transactions, and therefore, provable blocks can also be generated. Kakarot is built on top of CairoVM, so every transaction executed on Kakarot is provable.

Overall, Kakarot zkEVM is written in the Cairo language and utilizes the ZK-STARK proof system to provide provable computational capabilities. It allows developers to deploy EVM applications on top of it and enables end users to interact with these applications using their familiar toolchains.

Finally, Kakarot will also provide interoperability with the Starknet protocol, providing composability for protocols in different fields such as DeFi and GameFi.

Roadmap

The project started in October 2022 with several goals: open source from day one, welcome contributions, and the most ambitious goal is to create a zkEVM with less than 10,000 lines of code.

Kakarot zkEVM's roadmap is divided into three stages:

Phase One: Kakarot zkEVM on Starknet - Bringing EVM to Starknet

Kakarot zkEVM will first exist as a built-in EVM in Starknet's L2, allowing developers to directly deploy their Solidity (or any EVM-compatible language) smart contracts on Starknet and use their familiar tools (such as Foundry, Hardhat, Wagmi, etc.). Their end users will be able to interact with their dApps using their familiar toolchains (such as Metamask, Wallet connect, etc.). Overall, the experience for developers and users on Kakarot will be identical to that of Polygon, Scroll, or Ethereum L1.

阶段二: Kakarot x Madara—L3 zkEVMs

Phase 2: Kakarot x Madara—L3 zkEVMs

Kakarot and Madara will be integrated into a unified stack to enable L3 zkEVMs and enable L4, L5, etc. where meaningful. The team will be able to deploy their zkEVM application chains and settle transactions on Starknet using validity proofs. Computation is done off-chain or at higher layers, with on-chain verification. L3s that rely on validity proofs, such as Kakarot, have an interesting and underestimated property: the ability to decouple security and decentralization.

Users can benefit from the security of Ethereum L1 without the need for the same level of decentralization (i.e. thousands of validators). However, decentralization is beneficial for rollups because it brings liveliness and censorship resistance, two very important (and underestimated?) properties. This can be achieved by setting the sequencer to hundreds instead of thousands. Gas costs on L2 are much lower than on L1 due to computations being performed on another layer, while performance (TPS) is higher.

Please note that L2 is much cheaper than L1. The scalability of rollups is multiplied by stacking. To further reduce gas costs, proof verification and data availability (DA) can be separated. Starknet L2 can serve solely as a proof verification layer, while new data availability solutions such as Celestia or EigenDA can be used to publish transaction data. Users will have the option to join either option depending on their security needs. Publishing proofs and transaction data on Starknet is the safer option, while using DA solutions to publish transaction data is the more economical choice.

Phase Three: Kakarot x Madara—type 1 zkEVM

Kakarot and Madara can also be combined to achieve type 1 zkEVM. If possible:

1. Use Cairo to write Ethereum consensus rules in the Madara x Kakarot full node, enabling proof of L1 consensus.

2. Switching from Pedersen Merkle Patricia Trie (MPT) to Keccak MPT.

So, Kakarot will become a type 1 zkEVM client, capable of proving L1 blocks. This is a more advanced use case, depending on Ethereum's roadmap, especially Verge. After Verge, keccak may be replaced by poseidon as Ethereum's preferred hash function. This will help the zkEVM team become type 1, as the main compatibility obstacle for zkEVM is storage layout, that is, implementing Keccak MPT at a provable and reasonable cost.

This goal was achieved in just six short months. And the testnet will be released in the late summer of 2023.

Team:

At a hacker house in Lisbon, about ten people worked tirelessly for a week to build a zkEVM, thus giving birth to the Kakarot core team.

With the help of Starknet Foundation and Onlydust, Kakarot now has over 40 unique contributors.

Elias Tazartes: Co-founder and CEO of Kakarot, specializing in blockchain engineering (Dapp, Ethereum, Algorand) and full-stack development (Svelte/React, NodeJS, Rust, Python) as a freelance developer.

Clment Walter: Scientist, engineer, entrepreneur, handyman, curious about everything. This is Clment's self-introduction. He is also the co-founder and chief technology officer of Kakarot.

Financing:

Currently, Kakarot has completed a pre-seed round of financing, and the specific amount of financing has not been disclosed. The teams and individuals who participated in the investment include: Starkware, LambDa angel investors including Vitalik, Nicolas Bacca, co-founder of Ledger, and Rand Hindi, co-founder and CEO of ZAMA.

Summary:

Currently, it seems that the development of public chains that are not compatible with EVM is slow. The majority of public chain ecosystems are currently centered around the Ethereum ecosystem. Kakarot, as an Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) written in Cairo on Starknet, can effectively link the Starknet ecosystem and the Ethereum ecosystem. On Starknet, which is not compatible with EVM, the Ethereum ecosystem can be well constructed, and the entry threshold for developers can be reduced, while accessing Ethereum security and reducing costs. In the second and third phases of Kakarot, more composability can be achieved, such as modular combinations like Celestia or EigenDA.

As a ZK-EVM developed on Starknet, the relationship between ZK-EVM and the Starknet ecosystem is like a symbiotic relationship. Currently, Starknet is constantly iterating and upgrading to improve user experience. ZK-EVM built on Kakarot can contribute greatly to the prosperity of the project ecosystem. Conversely, if Starknet's development is not satisfactory, Kakarot will also be affected.

Kakarot also has an advantage in that it has received support from V God and StarkWare, not only in spirit but also in funding.

Compared to other ZK-EVMs, Kakarot is at a disadvantage - with a team of less than 10 people, a much smaller budget and brand recognition. This is also one of the reasons why Kakarot has not been deployed as a general-purpose zkEVM L2.

Currently, Kakarot is still in its early stages and the test network will be released soon. Please stay tuned.