Today we’re introducing Akita, a new polynomial commitment scheme (PCS) that provides quantum-resistant security for zero-knowledge proving systems. The first production-ready primitive of its kind, Akita delivers post-quantum security alongside proof sizes that are 2x to 8x smaller than current post-quantum alternatives.
Akita is a standalone primitive and can be adopted by any proof system seeking post-quantum security. Its first major deployment will be inside Jolt, the ZK proving system developed in partnership with a16z crypto that underpins the Zero blockchain. This makes Jolt the fastest production-grade zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkVM) that offers quantum resistance, all while delivering dramatically smaller proofs - a major step in building Zero for a post-quantum world.
You can read the full technical paper and explore the Akita implementation on GitHub.
What is Akita?
Akita is a polynomial commitment scheme, the foundational component inside a ZK proving system responsible for committing to and proving the correctness of a computation trace. Replacing this component with a quantum-secure alternative secures the entire proving stack, as the rest of the stack is information-theoretically secure.
Akita’s architecture is lattice-based, the same class of mathematics standardized by NIST for post-quantum encryption and signature, currently rolling out to protect all encrypted internet traffic in the near future.
Akita's performance profile is distinct from existing post-quantum proving approaches:
- Proof size: Post-quantum proving systems built on hash-based schemes typically produce proofs of 200kb or more. Akita produces proofs that are 65-80kb in size, a 2x to 8x reduction depending on the application.
- Proving time: Proving with Akita is 2–3x faster than what Jolt currently delivers.
- Memory usage: Akita reduces Jolt's memory usage by ~2x. In fact, beyond storing the polynomial itself, Akita uses sub-linear memory for commitment & proving, allowing the proving system to scale to enormous program sizes without reliance on recursive composition.
Lattices over hashes
There are two primary paths to post-quantum proving systems: hash-based schemes and lattice-based schemes. While hash-based approaches have seen significant development, lattice-based assumptions offer additional upsides:
- Drastic reduction in proof size
- Dramatic performance improvements for sparse workloads
- Simpler integration with the rest of the post-quantum Internet
Akita is the first commitment scheme to bring lattice-based security to a production-ready ZK proving system.
A landmark deployment: Jolt
Akita is an open-source primitive that any proof system can use to enable quantum-resistant proving. Its first deployment will be inside Jolt, the zkVM developed in partnership with a16z crypto. This implementation means that Jolt can deliver post-quantum security while simultaneously decreasing proof size and accelerating prover speed by 2-3x. Akita makes Jolt the state-of-the-art zkVM on most major axes of interest: proof size (amongst post-quantum solutions), prover time, and prover memory.
Looking ahead
Akita represents the first significant step toward a fully quantum-secure Zero stack. As the industry works to harden systems against potential threats from quantum computing to current cryptographic assumptions, building quantum-resistant infrastructure is a critical priority. More work is yet to be done, and will continue as we approach mainnet and beyond.