Two Paths for Bitcoin to Support ZK Verification Functionality

Bitcoin operates as a socially stable system over the long term, stemming from a certain consensus reached among people on key issues. However, Bitcoin still faces some problems that need to be addressed, such as high transaction fees and insufficient anonymity. To improve these issues, there are two possible paths:

1. Enable Bitcoin scripts to directly support SNARK verification. This requires the use of the OP_CAT opcode, which is likely to be passed eventually. OP_CAT is a simple but powerful opcode that can make Bitcoin scripts more robust. It can support the verification of Merkle proofs, aiding in the verification of FRI-based SNARKs. Although the activation of OP_CAT may affect the MEV gains of some individuals, the likelihood of the community reaching a consensus on it is relatively high.

2. The solution based on BitVM. BitVM enables Bitcoin to verify any computational task, providing the best path to implement SNARK validation without changing the protocol. It circumvents the limitation on script size in Bitcoin blocks through the Taproot MerkleTree script structure and KV storage solution. BitVM requires fraud proofs to check for malicious behavior, and if issues are found, it allows for the withdrawal of pre-staked assets.

In addition, the Chain State Proofs proposed by the ZeroSync team are also a technology worth paying attention to. It combines ZK to prove the validity of block hashes, significantly reducing the costs of running nodes. This technology not only compresses the synchronization and verification workload of Bitcoin historical data but is also an important part of BitVM implementation.

No matter which option is chosen, the ultimate goal of the Bitcoin community is to make the product more practical and support more applicable scenarios. Although these improvements will not be realized in the short term, they represent an important direction for the future development of Bitcoin.