Ethereum’s 12-GPU proving problem just got a 4-GPU answer
ZisK’s new four-GPU benchmark declare has lowered the headline {hardware} depend in Ethereum’s real-time proving race. In February, CryptoSlate examined a roughly 12-GPU setup as a potential centralization threat. The new determine might carry proof era nearer to unbiased operators, offered the workload and working situations are comparable.
ZisK is an open-source zero-knowledge digital machine challenge, and on Aug. 18 it mentioned its v1.1.0-alpha prover recorded a 9.62-second p99 on 4 RTX 5090 GPUs. A follow-up mentioned 99.7% of examined Ethereum blocks completed in lower than 10 seconds.
Jordi Baylina amplified the consequence as a milestone combining four-GPU proving with claimed 128-bit safety and post-quantum resistance.
Ethereum’s working standard requires a minimum of 99% of mainnet blocks to be proved inside 10 seconds. If ZisK’s p99 was calculated over an equal mainnet-block workload and timing boundary, 9.62 seconds would sit 0.38 seconds under that threshold.
ZisK has yet to publish the block vary, pattern dimension, p99 calculation, timing boundary, proof dimension, or measured whole-system energy for the four-GPU run. That announcement is, as of now, a benchmark declare.
The six-part check
The Ethereum Foundation paired its latency goal with 5 different situations supposed to protect decentralization: on-premises tools costing not more than $100,000, energy use no larger than 10 kilowatts, totally open-source code, a minimum of 128-bit safety and proofs no bigger than 300 KiB with out trusted setups.
CryptoSlate has additionally tracked the Foundation’s emphasis on the 128-bit security threshold.
ZisK’s repository is licensed below MIT or Apache 2.0, and the challenge claims 128-bit safety for the brand new consequence. The latency situation stays provisional as a result of the announcement lacks the workload and measurement particulars wanted for an equal check.
The {hardware} arithmetic appears promising whereas leaving family practicality unresolved. Nvidia specifies 575 watts of total graphics power for a reference RTX 5090. Four playing cards carry a mixed GPU-only score of two.3 kW, under the ten kW ceiling earlier than CPUs, reminiscence, storage, conversion losses and cooling enter the calculation.
Nvidia launched the RTX 5090 at $1,999, placing 4 playing cards at $7,996 at launch MSRP. That determine leaves substantial room under $100,000 for the remainder of a multi-GPU machine.
| Criterion | Ethereum goal | ZisK v1.1.0-alpha public proof | OpenVM 2.0 public proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latency | p99 at or under 10 seconds for mainnet blocks | Claimed 9.62-second p99 on 4 5090 GPUs; workload particulars undisclosed | 9.8-second p99 on eight 5090 GPUs |
| Capital value | $100,000 or much less on premises | $7,996 for 4 playing cards at launch MSRP; full system undisclosed | Not reported within the cited launch |
| Power | 10 kW or much less on premises | 2.3 kW GPU-only score; measured system draw undisclosed | Not reported within the cited launch |
| Code | Fully open supply | Public MIT/Apache repository | Not assessed on this comparability |
| Security | At least 128 bits | Project claims 128-bit provable safety | 100-bit provable safety |
| Proof | 300 KiB or much less, no trusted setups | Undisclosed for the four-GPU consequence | Under 300 kB; setup situation unspoken within the cited launch |
A rig can match beneath a nominal price range and nonetheless pressure a smaller operator’s energy supply, cooling, or host-hardware capability. Fast proof era additionally has to fulfill Ethereum’s proof-size and setup guidelines.
OpenVM reveals why benchmark boundaries matter
OpenVM’s July manufacturing launch reported a 9.8-second p99 on eight 5090 GPUs throughout 7,200 Ethereum mainnet blocks starting at block 24,000,000. The run used 100-bit provable safety and produced proofs below 300 kB.
ZisK’s four-GPU quantity could characterize a real effectivity acquire, whereas the lacking equal inputs forestall a dependable rating. The safety ranges differ, ZisK has not hooked up a proof dimension to its consequence, and its examined block inhabitants and timing boundary stay unpublished.
The Ethproofs API defines proving time as together with witness era whereas excluding knowledge fetching and proof-submission latency. A p99 calculated round a totally different interval can look related whereas measuring a totally different operational burden.
Ethproofs presently lists ZisK versions through v0.18.0 and exposes a 16-GPU RTX 5090 ZisK configuration. It has but to point out an unbiased four-GPU v1.1.0-alpha p99 consequence, leaving the announcement with out a public reproducibility baseline.
ZisK’s release history identifies v1.1.0-alpha, whereas its repository describes the present line as a basis for a manufacturing launch present process safety and correctness audits.
An OpenZeppelin review revealed in November 2025 examined a restricted set of ZisK binary and essential constraints at a historic commit. It reported 13 findings, together with one crucial and two high-severity points, with none marked resolved in that report.
CryptoSlate’s February analysis framed a roughly 12-GPU, seven-second setup as a new centralization threat. ZisK now locations a claimed four-GPU run beside that earlier concern, although the configurations haven’t been proven to be equal.
A disclosed mainnet block set, full timing definition, sub-300-KiB proofs with out a trusted setup, measured wall energy, and an independently runnable launch would flip the consequence into proof for a home-proving breakthrough.
For now, the declare has weakened the straightforward data-center-scale objection whereas leaving the operational case open.
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