openvm-eth

A framework for generating zero-knowledge proofs of Ethereum block execution using OpenVM and Reth.

Caution

This repository is still an active work-in-progress and is not audited or meant for production usage.

Overview

This project provides a complete pipeline for:

1. Fetching block data from Ethereum JSON-RPC providers
2. Stateless execution of Ethereum blocks without full node state
3. Proof generation using OpenVM's RISC-V zkVM
4. On-chain verification via aggregated SNARK proofs

The system uses Merkle Patricia Trie (MPT) proofs to verify state without requiring a full node, making it suitable for trustless block verification and ZK rollup applications.

Workspace Structure

openvm-eth/
├── bin/
│   ├── reth-benchmark/      # Host-side bare metal benchmark 
│   ├── stateless-guest/     # zkVM guest program
└── crates/
    ├── chainspec/           # Chain configuration (mainnet, dev)
    ├── mpt/                 # Merkle Patricia Trie implementation
    ├── mpt-tools/           # MPT profiling and benchmarking
    ├── revm-crypto/         # Crypto provider using OpenVM intrinsics
    ├── rpc-proxy/           # RPC proxy for witness generation
    ├── stateless-executor/  # Core block execution library
    └── stateless-witness/   # Witness generation from Reth

Binary Crates

bin/reth-benchmark

The main CLI tool for single machine bare metal benchmarks. Supports multiple benchmarking modes:

• Execute: Run block execution in the VM without generating proofs
• ProveApp: Generate individual segment proofs
• ProveStark: Generate full STARK proofs with aggregation
• ProveEvm: Generate final SNARK proofs for on-chain EVM verification

Handles RPC interaction, witness caching, guest program loading, and metrics collection. Supports Nvidia GPU acceleration.

bin/stateless-guest

The RISC-V guest program that runs inside OpenVM. It receives serialized block data, executes all transactions using the stateless executor, verifies state root correctness, and outputs the block hash as proof of correct execution.

Library Crates

crates/stateless-executor

Core library implementing stateless Ethereum block execution. Executes blocks against witnessed state (storage proofs + bytecode), validates pre/post-execution conditions, and verifies state roots using MPT proofs. Integrates with Reth's EVM infrastructure.

Features:

• openvm - Enables OpenVM CryptoProvider for zkVM execution via revm

crates/stateless-witness

Generates execution witnesses using Reth node API, designed for compatibility with the Reth ExEx framework. Provides utility functions for conversion from Reth's ExecutionWitness format to StatelessExecutorInput, handling storage proof resolution, bytecode collection, and state serialization.

crates/mpt

Merkle Patricia Trie implementation for state and storage tree operations. Provides efficient state root computation and verification, optimized for both host and zkVM execution.

Features:

• host - Enables additional host-only functionality (resolver)

crates/revm-crypto

OpenVM-optimized cryptographic operations for Revm and Alloy. Provides efficient implementations of:

• ECDSA signature recovery (secp256k1)
• SHA-256 and Keccak-256 hashing
• BN254 and BLS12-381 pairing operations
• KZG commitments

Uses OpenVM's ECC guest libraries when running in the zkVM, falling back to standard implementations on the host.

crates/chainspec

Chain configuration for Ethereum mainnet and dev networks. Provides optimized chainspec loading suitable for zkVM execution (avoids expensive cloning operations).

crates/rpc-proxy

HTTP proxy server that provides debug_executionWitness RPC endpoint using standard JSON-RPC providers. Useful for development and testing without direct Reth node access.

Note: Not recommended for production use due to RPC provider limitations.

crates/mpt-tools

Development tools for MPT profiling and benchmarking. Includes memory profiling (via dhat) and performance benchmarks (via Criterion).

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Rust toolchain (see rust-toolchain.toml)
• Access to either Reth node or an archive Ethereum RPC node
• KZG trusted setup (for EVM proof generation)

Running Benchmarks

See Benchmark README.

Acknowledgements

• The zkVM framework uses OpenVM.
• The underlying Rust libraries make heavy use of Reth and Revm.
• This repo was forked from RSP
• The RSP repo builds on work from Zeth and we also forked Zeth's rpc-proxy crate.