Vitalik Buterin Highlights Real-Time ZK Proving Triumph for Ethereum

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, commended the recent real-time proving breakthrough on May 21, 2025, signifying significant progress in Ethereum’s technology expansion.

This marks a pivotal innovation for Ethereum, with the market witnessing a 2.3% price bump in a day due to enhanced blockchain capabilities.

Real-Time ZK Proving: A “Truly Amazing” Achievement

Vitalik Buterin highlighted the real-time ZK proving as a “truly amazing” advancement. The breakthrough indicates a vital achievement but is currently anticipated to be years from a Layer 1 application. Developer Uma Roy announced the breakthrough, which many cryptography experts viewed as improbable a year ago. Zeng Jiajun expressed skepticism, questioning if the technology’s performance met the hype.

Ethereum Sees 2.3% Boost After Breakthrough

The achievement is considered a major leap, positively affecting Ethereum’s market performance, resulting in a 2.3% price increase. The announcement stirred excitement across the cryptography community. This technical progress is set to impact Layer 2 solutions, and privacy-focused projects that depend on ZK-proof technology, with potential enhancements to scalability and transaction confidentiality.

ZK Proving: Historical Challenges and Future Prospects

Previous attempts at real-time ZK proving were unsuccessful, with experts projecting significant hurdles ahead. Ethereum’s roadmap has included substantial proposals to bolster scalability with ZK technology. Should real-time ZK proving be fully realized, it could transform Ethereum’s scalability, lowering costs and enhancing security, aligning with past goals set by Buterin and associated development teams.

Vitalik Buterin, Co-founder of Ethereum, said, “The current proving system only accounts for average-case scenarios and does not yet address worst-case performance, something necessary for reliable and secure Layer 1 implementation.” Source