In the dynamic realm of blockchain technology, scalability has perpetually posed an ever-pressing quandary. The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the bedrock of decentralized applications on the Ethereum network, has long stood as an impressive instrument. Nevertheless, it has encountered constraints in the realm of scalability. Enter Kakarot, an innovative undertaking endeavoring to transcribe the EVM into CairoVM, thereby blazing a trail towards a groundbreaking type 3 zkEVM.
Conceived by the brilliant minds of Lior Goldberg, Shahar Papini, and Michael Riabzev, the CairoVM serves as a virtual machine empowering verifiable execution. Its distinct capacity to represent execution through polynomials ushers in the possibility of proving transactions on Starknet, a Layer 2 validity rollup, deploying STARKs. This revolutionary approach bestows upon developers the ability to script provable programs in a high-level language, obviating the necessity for circuit-based implementations.
The notion of erecting a zkEVM in Cairo gained considerable traction when Shahar Papini, co-originator of Cairo, propounded the concept across social channels. The well-defined architecture and established opcode system of the EVM furnished an opportune moment to explore the prospects of attaining the scaling attributes of zero-knowledge cryptography. The impassioned Starknet community rallied behind this notion, setting the stage for Kakarot’s inception in October 2022.
Embarking upon the audacious endeavor, the Kakarot core team, comprised of ardent individuals from the Starknet community, toiled towards realizing the implementation of the EVM in Cairo. With a mere week of concerted efforts and fortified by the support of the Starknet Foundation and Onlydust, the team achieved an astounding milestone. They proficiently transposed 100% of the EVM opcodes into Kakarot, showcasing the feasibility and potency of this innovative approach. Spanning a mere 5,000 lines of expressive code, this implementation manifested the potential of erecting a zkEVM devoid of the need for circuits or polynomials.
In the wake of this accomplishment, Kakarot has diligently pressed forward, making momentous strides. Bolstered by the contributions of over 40 distinct collaborators and propelled by a staunch commitment to open-source principles, Kakarot has blossomed into a community-driven initiative, imbued with a lucid vision. By May 2023, Kakarot attained bytecode equivalence with the EVM (type 3 zkEVM) and successfully incorporated eight of the nine EVM precompiles. The imminent inclusion of the final precompile shall culminate in reaching type 2.5 zkEVM, classified as such by the discerning classification of Vitalik Buterin.
The ramifications stemming from Kakarot’s unfolding are profound and far-reaching. dApps authored in Solidity or any other EVM-compatible language may be seamlessly deployed onto Kakarot sans necessitating modifications to extant code. This compatibility ensures that developers can harness the merits of zero-knowledge cryptography and the scalability proffered by Kakarot, all while retaining the familiarity and functionality of their present applications.
Notably, the team recently convened an engrossing podcast, wherein they delved into the annals of the project’s history. You can indulge in the recording by accessing the following link:
The vista ahead augurs great promise for Kakarot, with plans underway to release a testnet by summer’s end in 2023. As the project perpetually unfurls its metamorphosis, it is poised to revolutionize the landscape of decentralized applications, unfurling novel pathways towards scalable and secure blockchain solutions.
