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ACE Runtime - A ZKP-Native Blockchain Runtime with Sub-Second Cryptographic Finality

Jian Sheng Wang

TL;DR

ACE Runtime is presented, a ZKP native execution layer built on identity authorization separation that replaces per transaction signature checks with lightweight HMAC attestations in the hot path, then generates one aggregated zero knowledge finality certificate per block in an asynchronous prove stage.

Abstract

Existing high performance blockchains verify one signature per transaction on the critical path, which creates O(N) verification cost, high hardware pressure, and difficult post quantum migration. This paper presents ACE Runtime, a ZKP native execution layer built on identity authorization separation. We replace per transaction signature checks with lightweight HMAC attestations in the hot path, then generate one aggregated zero knowledge finality certificate per block in an asynchronous prove stage. The system is organized as an Attest Execute Prove pipeline with two tier finality: soft finality from BFT voting and hard finality from proof verification. Under standard cryptographic assumptions, we provide formal arguments for attestation unforgeability and hard finality irreversibility. We also define a two phase timeout and backup proving path with witness availability gossip for liveness under builder failure. Quantitative results combine analytical modeling with reference implementation measurements. The prototype shows low CPU orchestration overhead, while model driven analysis projects constant per block verification cost, lower validator hardware requirements for non builders, and better bandwidth efficiency than per transaction signature designs. These results indicate that identity authorization separation is a practical architecture for sub second cryptographic finality with a clear path toward stronger post quantum components.

ACE Runtime - A ZKP-Native Blockchain Runtime with Sub-Second Cryptographic Finality

TL;DR

ACE Runtime is presented, a ZKP native execution layer built on identity authorization separation that replaces per transaction signature checks with lightweight HMAC attestations in the hot path, then generates one aggregated zero knowledge finality certificate per block in an asynchronous prove stage.

Abstract

Existing high performance blockchains verify one signature per transaction on the critical path, which creates O(N) verification cost, high hardware pressure, and difficult post quantum migration. This paper presents ACE Runtime, a ZKP native execution layer built on identity authorization separation. We replace per transaction signature checks with lightweight HMAC attestations in the hot path, then generate one aggregated zero knowledge finality certificate per block in an asynchronous prove stage. The system is organized as an Attest Execute Prove pipeline with two tier finality: soft finality from BFT voting and hard finality from proof verification. Under standard cryptographic assumptions, we provide formal arguments for attestation unforgeability and hard finality irreversibility. We also define a two phase timeout and backup proving path with witness availability gossip for liveness under builder failure. Quantitative results combine analytical modeling with reference implementation measurements. The prototype shows low CPU orchestration overhead, while model driven analysis projects constant per block verification cost, lower validator hardware requirements for non builders, and better bandwidth efficiency than per transaction signature designs. These results indicate that identity authorization separation is a practical architecture for sub second cryptographic finality with a clear path toward stronger post quantum components.
Paper Structure (56 sections, 4 theorems, 12 equations, 3 figures, 15 tables, 4 algorithms)

This paper contains 56 sections, 4 theorems, 12 equations, 3 figures, 15 tables, 4 algorithms.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Key Insight: Identity--Authorization Separation
  3. Contributions
  4. Background and Motivation
  5. The ACE-GF Cryptographic Primitive
  6. Solana TPU Pipeline Analysis
  7. Limitations of Existing ZK-Enhanced Chains
  8. System Design
  9. Attest--Execute--Prove Pipeline
  10. Attestation Structure and Verification
  11. Transaction format comparison.
  12. Proof Pipelining
  13. ZK-ACE circuit specification.
  14. Two-Tier Finality Model
  15. Block Structure
  16. ...and 41 more sections

Key Result

Theorem 3.4

Under the knowledge-of-exponent assumption on BN254 and the collision-resistance of Poseidon and SHA-256, a block that has achieved hard finality can only be reversed by an adversary capable of forging a Groth16 proof, which requires breaking the $q$-PKE assumption.

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Proof pipelining across consecutive slots. CPU-bound attestation checking and execution occupy the critical path (green), while GPU proof generation (blue) and finality certificate publication (orange) overlap with subsequent slots.
  • Figure 2: Block verification time as a function of block size. Solana scales linearly ($O(N)$) while ACE Runtime remains constant ($O(1)$) at $0.5\;\mathrm{ms}$ regardless of the number of transactions.
  • Figure 3: Finality timeline comparison. ACE Runtime targets hard finality at ${\sim}600\;\mathrm{ms}$, versus ${\sim}12\;\mathrm{s}$ on Solana and ${\sim}15$ min on Ethereum.

Theorems & Definitions (19)

  • Definition 2.1: Multi-Stream Key Derivation
  • Definition 2.2: Context Isolation
  • Definition 2.3: ZK Identity Commitment
  • Definition 3.1: Attestation
  • Definition 3.2: Soft Finality
  • Definition 3.3: Hard Finality
  • Theorem 3.4: Hard Finality Irreversibility
  • proof
  • Definition 3.5: ACE Block
  • Definition 3.6: Finality Certificate
  • ...and 9 more