# Pippenger Algorithm for Multi-Scalar Multiplication (MSM) ## Problem Give $n$ scalars ${k_i}$ and $n$ EC points ${P_i}$, calculate $P$ such that $$P=\sum_{i=0}^n k_i P_i$$ ## The Pippenger / Bucket Algorithm ### Step 1: partition scalars into windows Let's first partition each scalar into $m$ windows each has $w$ bits, then $$k_i = k_{i,0} + k_{i,1} 2^{w} + ... + k_{i,(m-1)} 2^{(m-1)w}$$ You can think each scalar $k_i$ as a bignum and representing it as a multi-precision integer with limb size $w$. Then we have, $$\sum_i k_i P_i = \sum_i \sum_{j=0}^{m-1} k_{i,j} 2^{jw} P_i$$ By reordering the sums, we get $$ \sum_i k_i P_i = \sum_j 2^{jw} \left( \sum_i k_{i,j} P_i \right) \\ = \sum_j 2^{jw} W_j$$ It means we can calculte the MSM for each window $W_j$ first, then aggregate the results via $\sum_{j=0}^{m-1} 2^{jw} W_j$ Then, let's examine $W_j = \sum_{i=0}^n k_{i,j} P_i$ ### Step 2: for each window, add points by bucket Because each window has $w$ bits, $k_{i,j}$ has a value range of $[0, 2^w-1]$. Therefore, we can put $n$ points into $2^w$ buckets according to the value of $k_{i,j}$. We can first calculate $W_j$ by, 1. for bucket $t$, $t \in \{0, 2^w-1\}$, calculate the sum of points in this bucket and get $B_t$ 2. $W_j = \sum_{t=0}^{2^w-1} t B_t$ For example, if $w=3$ and $n=15$, then we have $15$ points, $8$ buckets, such that $$W_j = 4 P_1 + 3 P_2 + 5 P_3 + 1 P_4 + 4 P_5 + 6 P_7 + 6 P_8 + 3 P_{14} + 5 P_{15} \\ = 1 P_4 + 3 (P_2+P_{14}) + 4 (P_1+P_5) + 5(P_3+P_{15}) + 6 (P_7 + P_8) \\ = 1 B_1 + 3 B_3 + 4 B_4 + 5 B_5 + 6 B_6 $$ Therefore, $$ W_j = \sum_{t=0}^{2^w-1} t B_t $$ ### Step 3: reduce window results $$P=\sum_{i=0}^n k_i P_i \\ = \sum_j 2^{jw} W_j $$ ## Reference https://www.notamonadtutorial.com/multiscalar-multiplication-strategies-and-challenges/ ###### tags: `msm` `zkp` `public`
Last changed by  
 
drouyang.eth
Co-founder @ Snarkify Network, Former FB Research Scientist, Ph.D. in Operating Systems

Read more

Optimizing Multi-Scalar Multiplication (MSM): Learning from ZPRIZE

The following algorithms and techniques are used by the top-2 performers of ZPrize 2022 MSM-WSAM track.

9/30/2023
Signed Bucket Indexes for Multi-Scalar Multiplication (MSM)

If we treat bucket indexes as signed integers, we are able to saves one bit in bucket index encoding, and therefore reduce number of buckets and bucket memory usage by half. The method is denoted as the signed-bucket-index method, and also known as NAF method. This method was reported in [1] and implemented by top-2 performers of the zPrize MSM-WASM track. NAF stands for Non-Adjcent Form. The classic definition of NAF is documented in Textbook Definition of Non-Adjacent Form (NAF). Intuition In bucket method, we slice each scalar $s$ into $c$-bit slices $s_i$, and use $s_i$ as bucket indexes. If we ignore bucket $0$ (since $0*P=0$), then we have $$s_i \in {1, ..., 2^c-1}$$ Therefore, we need $2^c - 1$ buckets in total.

4/3/2023
GLV Decomposition for Multi-Scalar Multiplication (MSM)

GLV Decomposition is an efficient way to calculate point scaling $kP$. This method was originally published by Gallant, Lambert and Vanstone in 2001 [1], and was later integrated into the Bitcoin core code [2]. However, GLV Decomposition was not enabled in Bitcoin until a patent around the GLV method expired in 2020 [3]. A textbook introduction of enomorphisms of elliptic curves can be found in [4]. Problem Given scalar $k$ and EC point $P$, caculate $kP$. Property of Enomorphism Consider the elliptic curve over field $\mathbb{F}_p$ $$E: y^2 = x^3 + c\

3/29/2023
Montgomery Multiplication

Algorithm Consider prime field $\mathbb{F}_p$, select power of two $2^w$ such that $R=2^w > p$, we know that mod by R can be computed by bit shifting. Montgomery Form For $x \in \mathbb{F}_p$, define Montgomery form of $x$ as, $$\bar{x} = xR \pmod p$$ Transform To Montgomery Form Transforming $x$ to Montgomery form can be done by left-shift $x$ by $w$ and reduce modulo $p$. In practice, $x$ and $y$ are transformed to Montgomery form at the beginning of a computation, and transformed back at the end.

2/27/2023
Read more from drouyang.eth
Published on HackMD