ZKsync touts single-GPU real-time proving as Vitalik Buterin urges security focus
ZKsync announced Airbender Prime on October 13, 2026, saying it is the first Ethereum prover able to generate proofs in real time on a single GPU. The system proved 99% of 7,200 mainnet blocks in under 10 seconds and all blocks within 12 seconds, topping the ETHproofs.org leaderboard. Vitalik Buterin praised the speed achievement but said the next priorities are formal verification, correctness, and limits on proving costs.
ZKsync introduced Airbender Prime on Oct. 13, 2026. Its benchmark used one NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPU. Of 7,200 Ethereum mainnet blocks, 99% were proved in less than 10 seconds, and the full set finished within 12 seconds. That performance placed it first on ETHproofs.org for speed, hardware efficiency, and affordability.
The prover uses hash-based STARKs, which ZKsync says resist quantum attacks, and runs on the open RISC-V instruction set with open-source components. An earlier Airbender version recorded 21.8 MHz throughput on an H100. Airbender follows ZKsync’s Atlas upgrade and is already active across supported chains, targeting both institutional and independent operators.
Faster single-GPU proving could lower barriers for smaller operators and developers, potentially making Ethereum scaling tools more accessible. It may also intensify competition among zkEVM teams, affecting infrastructure providers, node operators, and users who rely on cheaper, faster verification. Buterin's emphasis on formal verification and cost limits may shape how safely these systems are adopted, though real-world benefits depend on audits, implementation, and whether costs stay predictable.