Risc Zero

RISC Zero is a universal zero-knowledge computing platform that enables developers to generate cryptographic proofs for arbitrary programs written in standard Rust, removing the need to understand ZK mathematics and unlocking verifiable computation at general-purpose scale.

Core Technology: The zkVM

At the heart of RISC Zero is an open-source zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkVM) built on the RISC-V instruction set — the same open hardware architecture used in modern CPUs. Because RISC-V is a well-understood, general-purpose ISA, standard Rust programs can be compiled directly into the zkVM and executed to produce a zk-STARK proof attesting that the computation ran correctly.

Internally the system operates across three layers. The zkVM layer executes the RISC-V program and generates a raw zk-STARK proof. A recursion layer then aggregates multiple STARKs into a single, more compact proof. Finally, the settlement layer converts the aggregated proof into Groth16 format — a succinct SNARK that is cheap to verify on-chain. This pipeline makes RISC Zero proofs practical for smart contracts and cross-chain applications without requiring expensive custom circuit development.

R0VM 2.0, released in April 2025, delivered a step-change in performance: Ethereum block proving time fell from roughly 35 minutes to 44 seconds, with proof costs dropping approximately 5x. The team added two precompiles — BN254 and BLS12-381 — providing full coverage of Ethereum's mainstream cryptographic primitives. RISC Zero reports throughput of approximately 1 million RISC-V cycles per second on its cloud infrastructure, with deployments benchmarked at least 7x less expensive than competing zkVM systems.

Products

zkVM (R0VM 2.0) is the core open-source prover. Developers write guest programs in Rust, compile them with the RISC Zero toolchain, and receive a receipt — a cryptographic proof of execution plus the program's public outputs — that any verifier can check in milliseconds.

Bonsai was RISC Zero's hosted SaaS proving service that distributed proving tasks across GPU clusters. It provided developers with high-performance proof generation without managing hardware. Bonsai is transitioning toward the decentralized Boundless architecture.

Boundless is a decentralized, competitive proof marketplace. Prover nodes bid to fulfill proof requests submitted by developers and applications. The system launched Mainnet Beta on July 15, 2025, with production deployment initially on the Base blockchain. An official Mainnet launch followed in September 2025. By mid-August 2025, the network had already processed 542.7 trillion RISC-V compute cycles across 399,000 fulfilled orders, with peak daily order volumes exceeding 15,000. Over 1,500 prover nodes were active, and major mining firms including Bitmain began developing dedicated ASICs for the workload.

ZKC Token

Boundless introduced ZK Coin (ZKC), a utility and incentive token distributed via Proof of Verifiable Work (PoVW) — a mechanism that rewards provers for generating useful ZK proofs rather than computationally wasteful hashes. Provers must stake ZKC equal to at least ten times the maximum fee for any request they accept, aligning prover economics with reliable service.

Total token supply is capped at 1 billion ZKC with tapering inflation: approximately 7% annually in Year 1, declining to around 3% by Year 8. The initial distribution allocated roughly 49% to ecosystem growth, 23.5% to team and contributors, and 21.5% to investors. ZKC launched before declining through late 2025 after exchange scrutiny; the Boundless Foundation clarified tokenomics and continued protocol development into 2026, including a governance model update targeting September 2026.

Solana Ecosystem Fit

RISC Zero has built active on-chain Solana infrastructure. The boundless-xyz/risc0-solana GitHub repository houses a verifier router program and a Groth16 verifier that uses Solana's native alt-bn254 system calls for efficient on-chain proof verification. The router supports dynamic routing and emergency stop functionality. Developers integrating with RISC Zero on Solana are directed to use the official deployed verifier rather than deploying independent copies. This Solana deployment was audited by Veridise prior to release. The broader Boundless roadmap targets extending ZK proof support across Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, Cosmos, and additional ecosystems.

Existing integrations illustrate the cross-chain scope of the protocol. Wormhole is integrating Boundless to add ZK verification to Ethereum consensus data, strengthening cross-chain bridge security. Bitcoin L2 project Citrea uses RISC Zero's zkVM to generate validity proofs posted via BitVM. Nethermind deployed RISC Zero verifiers for Stellar cross-chain bridge infrastructure. A partnership with Google Cloud's Verifiable AI program enables privacy-preserving machine learning proofs.

Security and Audits

Security work is ongoing and formally grounded. Veridise began collaborating with RISC Zero in July 2024, applying its Picus automated ZK verification tool to RISC Zero's circuits for continuous, mathematically formal checking against underconstrained bugs — a vulnerability class that conventional audits often miss. The engagement identified three critical vulnerabilities, all of which were mitigated. RISC Zero aims to be the first RISC-V zkVM with formal guarantees across its circuit architecture. A public bug bounty program is maintained via HackenProof.

Team and Funding

RISC Zero was founded in 2022. The leadership team includes Jeremy Bruestle (CEO), a 20-year systems architecture veteran from Intel; Frank Laub (CTO), with expertise in deep learning compilers and virtual machines; Shiv Shankar (Boundless CEO), with a 15-year fintech and distributed systems background; Joe Restivo (COO), a serial entrepreneur; and Brett Carter (VP Product), formerly a senior product manager at O(1) Labs.

The company raised a $12 million seed round in 2022 followed by a $40 million Series A in July 2023 led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Galaxy Digital, and IOSG Ventures.