Hazync Achieves 27ms Verification Time, Requires 17 GPU-Years to Complete Proof Campaign

A research prototype called Hazync has made significant strides in reducing the time it takes to validate Bitcoin transactions. According to its developer, Hazync uses RISC Zero's zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkVM) to make Bitcoin validation reusable. The zkVM executes the validation program, producing a compact receipt that can be checked by others.

The 27-millisecond verification time achieved by Hazync is impressive, but it comes with a significant caveat: it will take approximately 17 GPU-years of compute power to complete a genesis-to-tip proof campaign. This estimate includes both historical backfill and ongoing capacity for new blocks.

While the developer estimates that the block 741,000 benchmark required 55 minutes to prove on two L40S GPUs, with 27 minutes spent on aggregation, it is essential to note that this measurement informs only a part of the overall estimate. The available data provides representative project benchmarks but does not represent an audited measurement across every era of Bitcoin history.

The project has already restarted its genesis board due to internal audits and soundness fixes, highlighting the need for ongoing review and verification. Hazync's full-chain performance remains an estimate until the campaign is completed, and software changes can erase accumulated work.

It is worth noting that the receipt verification process does not replace the roles of archive operators, who still supply transaction availability and retain historic witness and signature bytes. Additionally, best-chain selection remains with Bitcoin's most-work rule, and Hazync places cumulative work in the receipt's public output for comparison.