Arbitrum’s development team said it is introducing zero-knowledge, or ZK, proofs to the Arbitrum platform to build a multi-proof settlement model.
According to the team, ZK proofs could cut the time required to settle Arbitrum blocks to Ethereum Layer 1 from several days to several hours. It said the change is designed to improve capital efficiency for users, cross-chain bridges and protocols, while preserving security through a system built on multiple proof types.
The capability is being built for Arbitrum One as well as app-specific chains based on the Arbitrum platform. Offchain said it will later submit an upgrade proposal to the DAO.
What has been completed so far
The team said it can already run the same state transition function used in optimistic execution inside the SP1 zkVM and generate ZK proofs for real mainnet blocks.
It also said Stylus WASM contracts can now be proven together with Solidity contracts. In addition, the team has released a standalone Rust verifier, making ZK proofs a first-class mode alongside standard verification.
How the multi-proof model is structured
Arbitrum said the BoLD settlement protocol already supports accepting ZK proofs with backing from a fast confirmation committee. The existing dispute game remains as a fallback path, creating a multi-proof architecture that combines ZK proofs, a proof committee and fraud proofs.
The team added that it is continuing to reduce proving costs and is gradually merging the related code into Nitro’s main production path.
Next steps
Its next priorities include more proof optimization, a shift toward execution based on Reth, completion of proofs for the L1 message inbox, and integration of ZK settlement into node configuration so individual chains can turn it on when needed.