Proof-based general-purpose computing with Magnetar

Microsoft Research introduces Magnetar, a zero-knowledge virtual machine that proves execution of RISC-V programs written in Rust, Go, or C, running 10 to 39 times faster on average than the fastest comparable zkVMs across 15 benchmarks and verifying proofs in about 12 milliseconds. Magnetar's security rests only on standard hash functions such as SHA-256 or SHA-3, requiring no elliptic curves, lattices, special-purpose hash functions, trusted setup, or unproven conjectures. It builds on more than a decade of Microsoft Research work including Spartan, Phalanx, Nova, Brakedown, Lasso, Jolt, and BinarySpartan.