Verifying a Miden VM proof within the EVM

[partylikeits1983]

Currently, one of the primary motivations for smart contract developers to learn zk cryptography is to verify computations within the EVM.

Circom and Noir are popular zkSNARK circuit languages due to their ability to generate proofs that can be verified on the EVM.

SP1, RISC0, and zkLLVM are general-purpose zkVMs that also enhance this capability. However, working with these zkVMs is more challenging than with circuit DSLs because they require more performant hardware for proof generation.

This is where I believe Miden can truly stand out. With the upcoming release of the compiler, it will be easier to write general-purpose programs that can be verified. Although it might not exactly align with Miden's roadmap, I think it would be extremely useful if there were a Miden proof verifier written in Solidity, making it possible to verify Miden VM computations in the EVM.

I believe Starkware has this functionality, though I have not tested it myself: https://github.com/starkware-libs/starkex-contracts/blob/master/evm-verifier/solidity/contracts/StarkVerifier.sol

I’m starting this discussion to gauge the overall need for such functionality and the necessary steps to achieve it.

[bobbinth]

I think this would be great - and could be done by an external contributor too. Though, it may make sense to do this a bit later (e.g., 4 - 5 months down the road) as the internals of the VM are being refactored pretty heavily now.