Kakarot releases a stack to replace Ethereum ZK and plans to implement real-time STARK proofs on Ethereum L1 before the end of the year

According to The Block, Kakarot, a zkEVM project supported by Ethereum co founders Vitalik Buterin and StarkWare, has announced the completion of a fully functional implementation of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), with plans to use the STARK proof system to provide real-time proof of Ethereum Layer1 blocks by the end of 2025. This project is built using the Cairo language developed by StarkWare, aiming to provide a zero knowledge proof solution independent of mainstream technology stacks. Kakarot co-founder Clement Walter stated that the current system is capable of generating block proofs within 8 seconds, faster than Ethereum's 12 second block interval. This project implements technology stack differentiation through Cairo language, avoiding reliance on mainstream solutions such as Plonky3 prover and RISC-V instruction set. Ethereum's 2028 roadmap relies on ZK proofs, and Kakarot claims to have built the "first trusted alternative" to generate zero knowledge proofs for Ethereum blocks compared to mainstream stacks. This progress release comes at a time when the Ethereum community is discussing the RISC-V architecture alternative proposed by Vitalik Buterin. The Kakarot team responded that although it is reasonable for the execution layer to use the ZK friendly instruction set, there is no need to rush to RISC-V.