Two Paths for Bitcoin to Support ZK Verification Functionality

Bitcoin, as a social system, has a protocol that is difficult to modify in order to ensure security. However, Bitcoin also faces some challenges, such as high transaction fees and insufficient privacy protection. Introducing ZK technology is a great direction to address these issues.

Currently, there are two main paths for Bitcoin to support ZK verification:

1. Modify Bitcoin script to directly support SNARK verification. This requires adding new opcodes, such as re-enabling OP_CAT. OP_CAT can connect the top two elements of the stack, significantly enhancing the functionality of Bitcoin script and aiding in the implementation of SNARK verification. However, modifying the protocol requires a high degree of consensus within the community, making it difficult to achieve in the short term.

2. The BitVM-based solution. BitVM allows for the verification of arbitrary computations without modifying the Bitcoin protocol, making it the most feasible path available. It circumvents script size limitations through the Taproot Merkle Tree and KV storage solution, using a fraud proof mechanism to ensure correctness.

In addition, the Chain State Proofs proposed by the ZeroSync team is also a direction worth paying attention to. It combines ZK technology, which can significantly reduce the cost of node synchronization and verifying historical data, providing support for the implementation of BitVM.

Regardless of the chosen solution, the goal of the Bitcoin community is to make the products more practical and support more real-world scenarios while ensuring security. The introduction of ZK technology will be an important direction for the future development of Bitcoin.