Real-time CL proving, verifying consensus with a single proof
Strawmap L* (2029~30) · real-time cl-asm proofs
The verification computation the consensus layer (CL) performs for each block is turned into a short cryptographic proof, so that nodes check only the proof instead of recomputing everything. The goal is to produce the proof within the time it takes for a block to appear.
Why it is needed
Today an Ethereum node verifies the consensus layer's state changes by recomputing them directly. It checks all the signatures on the votes validators submitted and calculates from scratch how validator balances and the chain's finality status change. This work takes considerable computing resources, so light devices such as phones or browsers cannot verify everything and must trust other nodes. Real-time CL proving is a direction that turns this computation into a short cryptographic proof (SNARK). One party does the computation and produces a proof that it was computed according to the rules, and other nodes reach the same conclusion by checking only that proof. Checking a proof is much lighter than redoing the computation, so even small devices can verify the chain's consensus state for themselves. It extends the real-time proving research already under way on the execution layer (EL) to the consensus layer. Here, real-time means the proof must be completed before the next block appears. Only then can a node follow the chain by proofs. This item sits in L*, the last cell of the Strawmap, together with one-round finality and attester-proposer separation. This cell is only an estimate on the Strawmap and not a confirmed schedule.
How it works
- Consensus layer computation Performs the consensus layer's computation as is, checking the signatures on validator votes and updating balances and finality status.
- Produce the proof Produces a short cryptographic proof that the computation was done according to the rules, before the next block appears.
- Check only the proof Other nodes do not repeat the computation. They check only the proof and accept the new consensus state.