# EPF Development Log: Project Summary

**Developer:** Developeruche
**Program:** Ethereum Protocol Fellowship (EPF)
**Core Focus:** zkVM Performance, Precompile Architecture, Hybrid Ethereum (RISC-V/EVM), and L1 Consensus Integration.

## Phase 1: zkVM Performance & Architecture Research

### Week 1: zkVM Trace Generation Research
**Focus:** Investigated the bottleneck of trace generation in zkVMs, specifically analyzing the ZisK team's 1.5GHz breakthrough.
* **Key Analysis:** Identified Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation (RISC-V to x86) as the driver for 10x performance gains over JIT.
* **Metrics:** Reviewed benchmarks showing 36M gas processed in 0.5s on consumer hardware.
* **Output:** Authored "Breakthrough Emulation Bottleneck in zkVM".
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/BkSyxy_Vxl)

### Week 2: Deconstructing ZisK Architecture
**Focus:** Deep-dive into ZisK codebase to understand parallelization strategies.
* **Discovery:** Identified the "Minimal Trace" architecture (Memory Read Log + Register Checkpoints) enabling "memoryless re-execution."
* **Mechanism:** Decoupled trace generation into Phase 1 (Speed/AOT) and Phase 2 (Parallelism/Witness Generation).
* **Output:** Technical article "Deconstructing the 1.5 GHz zkVM."
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/SJlkqwzHge)

### Week 3: Practical Proof-of-Concept (Stateless Validation)
**Focus:** Validated ZisK architecture by building a functional PoC of an Ethereum Block Execution, happening statlessly.
* **Implementation:** Built a stateless Ethereum block validator using `reth-stateless` and `alloy-primitives` running inside `ziskemu`.
* **Technical Win:** Successfully compiled complex Rust crates for `riscv64ima-zisk-zkvm-elf` target.
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/B1ye_85Hee)

## Phase 2: Post-Quantum Consensus & OS Compatibility

### Week 4: Post-Quantum Consensus (Beam Chain)
**Focus:** Introduction to Beam Chain consensus layer and how it works.
* **Cryptography:** Implemented Winternitz One-Time Signature (WOTS) in Rust as a precursor to XMSS, this was done to better understand the Beam chain Cryptographic landscape.
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/rk2qBFzIgl)

### Week 5: Linux ABI & Syscall Analysis
**Focus:** Determining minimal OS requirements for running ETH clients in zkVMs.
* **Analysis:** Compared `reth` (Rust) vs. `geth` (Go) syscall profiles using `strace`.
* **Findings:** Rust relies on simple `brk`/`write`; Go requires complex `mmap`, `clone`, and `futex`.
* **Strategy:** Defined a tiered ABI support strategy (Basic for Rust, Advanced for Go/Managed Runtimes).
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/rJrbfojUxl)

### Week 6: Bare-Metal Go on RISC-V
**Focus:** Taming the Go runtime for constrained environments.
* **Implementation:** Compiled Geth `t8n` tool for bare-metal RISC-V using the Tamago toolchain, removing Linux dependency.
* **Optimization:** Constrained Go runtime (`GOMAXPROCS=1`, `GOGC=off`) to eliminate threading/signal syscalls.
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/rJNsGB8Dee)

## Phase 3: Precompile Strategy & Benchmarking

### Week 7: zkVM Precompile Survey
**Focus:** Categorizing hardware acceleration across the ecosystem.
* **Survey:** Cataloged precompiles for RISC0, SP1, Airbender, Zisk, OpenVM, Ziren, and Pico.
* **Insight:** Identified a spectrum from minimalist (RISC0) to rollup-centric/exhaustive (Ziren/Pico).
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/r1KxHax_ee)

### Weeks 8-9: Quantifying Precompile Impact (SP1)
**Focus:** Benchmarking `bn256` pairings to settle the "Fat vs. Lean" precompile debate.
* **Benchmarks:** Tested `substrate_bn`, `crypto-bigint`, and `arkworks` in SP1.
* **Key Finding:** Specialized ("Fat") precompiles offered ~27x cycle reduction. However, highly optimized software (`arkworks`) *without* precompiles outperformed generic libraries *with* generic `bigint` precompiles.
* **Conclusion:** Software optimization + Lean precompiles is more sustainable than exhaustive hardware intrinsic sets.
* **Link:** [Week 8 Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/HkcbqYuOlg) | [Week 9 Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/r14DREfFge)

### Week 10: Research Finalization
**Focus:** Synthesizing data into a formal report.
* **Deliverable:** Submitted report "Fat vs. Lean Precompiles in zkVMs: Short-Term Speed or Long-Term Sustainability?"
* **Thesis:** Advocated for "Lean" precompiles to avoid ecosystem fragmentation.
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/rkF8xtiKel)

## Phase 4: Hybrid Ethereum (RISC-V Execution Layer)

### Week 11: Hybrid Architecture Design
**Focus:** Experimenting with replacing the EVM with a RISC-V engine while maintaining backward compatibility.
* **Design:** Proposed a system detecting contract types via Magic Numbers (EVM vs. RISC-V).
* **Concept:** Designed a `mini-evm` interpreter to run as a RISC-V program to handle legacy bytecode.
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/H1gNFzesgg)

### Week 12: Prototyping the Sandbox
**Focus:** Initial implementation of the Hybrid VM.
* **Dev:** Established RISC-V execution sandbox and bytecode detection logic.
* **Interop:** Designed `syscall` interface for `SSTORE`/`SLOAD` to bridge RISC-V execution with RETH state.
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/S138tfgigx)

### Week 13: RETH Integration & Tooling
**Focus:** Coupling the engine with a real node.
* **Implementation:** Finished `mini-evm-interpreter` and integrated it with a RETH node.
* **Tooling:** Released `cargo-hybrid` CLI for scaffolding, compiling, and deploying RISC-V contracts.
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/r1S2OfHixl)

### Weeks 14-15: Benchmarking Hybrid VM
**Focus:** Performance testing EVM compatibility mode.
* **Execution:** Benchmarked Hybrid Node (running `mini-evm`) against standard `revm`.
* **Assets:** Integrated ERC20 standard contracts for realistic load testing.
* **Documentation:** Integrated benchmark reports into the official project book.
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/Bkm7rQd3xg)

### Weeks 16-17: RISC-V Mode Benchmarking & Release
**Focus:** Testing native RISC-V performance and automation.
* **Benchmarks:** Completed performance analysis for native RISC-V contract execution.
* **DevOps:** Implemented manual release scripts and updated CI workflows.
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/H1YgEBp6gg)

## Phase 5: Consensus Layer Integration (Prysm)

### Weeks 19-20: Optional Execution Proofs
**Focus:** Integrating zkEVM proofs into Prysm (Consensus Client).
* **Prototype:** Started work on "Stateless Attestors"—allowing CL nodes to verify execution payloads via proofs without a full EL.
* **Architecture:** Implemented a "Proof Chain" structure to track proven blocks parallel to fork choice (avoiding direct fork choice modification for now).
* **Status:** Prototype PR created to map architectural changes in Prysm, this is still incompelete and I intend to follow on with this after the EPF program.
* **Link:** [Full Log](https://hackmd.io/@0xdeveloperuche/S1EkgLYg-l)