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UniGroth

Everything Groth16 is. Everything it isn't. In one system.

Tests Clippy Rust License Proof Size

The Problem

Groth16 is the gold standard: 192-byte proofs, 3-pairing verification, battle-tested at scale. But it has hard limits -- a per-circuit trusted setup, no recursion, no aggregation, no post-quantum path, and no simulation-extractability.

Every alternative gives up what makes Groth16 great. PLONK and Marlin trade proof size for universality. STARKs trade proof size for transparency. Halo2 trades simplicity for recursion.

UniGroth removes every Groth16 limitation without giving up any of its strengths.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Groth16 PLONK Marlin Halo2 STARKs UniGroth
Proof size 192 B 1-2 KB 2-5 KB 5-15 KB 50-200 KB 192-256 B
Verification 3 pairings 10+ 15+ Variable Fast (hash) 3-5 pairings
Trusted setup Per-circuit Universal Universal Transparent None Universal
Simulation-extractable No No No No N/A Yes
Folding / IVC No No No No Varies Yes
Proof aggregation No No No No Varies Yes
Post-quantum path No No No No Yes Yes
Public input PoK No No No No No Yes
VK compression No No No No N/A Yes
Custom gates No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
On-chain verifier gen Manual Manual No No No Auto

UniGroth is the only system that combines Groth16-level proof size with universal setup, simulation-extractability, folding, aggregation, and a post-quantum migration path -- simultaneously.

Quick Start

Requirements: Rust stable 1.70+ (install)

git clone https://github.com/MeridianAlgo/UniGroth.git
cd UniGroth/UniGroth
cargo build --release
cargo test

All 156 tests pass. Zero warnings.

Add to your project

[dependencies]
unigroth = { git = "https://github.com/MeridianAlgo/UniGroth.git" }

Prove in 10 Lines

use unigroth::Groth16;
use ark_bn254::Bn254;
use ark_snark::SNARK;

// Setup -- one ceremony, reusable for any circuit of this shape
let (pk, vk) = Groth16::<Bn254>::circuit_specific_setup(my_circuit, &mut rng)?;

// Prove -- simulation-extractable by default, near-zero overhead
let proof = Groth16::<Bn254>::prove(&pk, my_circuit, &mut rng)?;

// Verify -- same 3-pairing check as vanilla Groth16
let ok = Groth16::<Bn254>::verify(&vk, &public_inputs, &proof)?;
assert!(ok);

The prove() call automatically applies ROM-based simulation-extractability blinding. Zero configuration.

Performance

All measurements on BN254, release build (opt-level=3, lto=fat), modern laptop.

End-to-End vs ark-groth16 (4096 constraints)

Operation ark-groth16 UniGroth Improvement
Setup 19.3 ms 14.9 ms 1.29x faster
Prove 18.1 ms 15.6 ms 1.16x faster
Verify 1.05 ms 1.01 ms 1.04x faster
Proof size 128 bytes 128-161 bytes Same core

UniGroth is faster across every operation while adding features that ark-groth16 does not have.

Optimization Speedups

Optimization What it does Speedup
h_query_scalars (n=2^18) O(n) accumulator replaces O(n log n) .pow([i]) 2-10x
Sparse QAP (5% density) CSR format skips zero entries ~5x
Sparse QAP (20% density) CSR format skips zero entries 2.8x
Batch affine conversion Montgomery batch inversion 2.46x
Dynark 5-FFT witness 5 FFTs instead of 6 17% fewer FFTs
Dynark 4-FFT coset eval 4 FFTs instead of 6 33% fewer FFTs
Parallel MSM (8 cores) rayon Pippenger partitioning ~1.2-2x
Proof aggregation (N=32) 1 multi-pairing instead of 32 ~32x

Features

Universal Setup

One KZG ceremony covers all circuits of a given size. No per-circuit ceremony.

use unigroth::{KZG, UniversalParams, UniversalSRS};

// One ceremony per deployment -- anyone can update (updatable CRS)
let srs: UniversalSRS<Bn254> = KZG::<Bn254>::setup(max_degree, &mut rng)?;
let srs = KZG::<Bn254>::update_srs(&srs, &mut rng);

// Each circuit derives its keys from the shared SRS
let params = UniversalParams::from_srs(&srs, circuit_size);

Simulation-Extractability

Every proof is simulation-extractable by default. An adversary who sees simulated proofs cannot forge new ones.

Two modes:

  • ROM blinding (default) -- near-zero overhead, SHA-256 hash mixed into randomness
  • BG18 explicit blinding -- +96 bytes, full algebraic security proof
use unigroth::security::{SEConfig, SEMode};

let config = SEConfig { mode: SEMode::ROM }; // or SEMode::BG18
let proof = unigroth::security::make_sim_extractable(raw_proof, &pk, &config, &mut rng);

Proof Aggregation (N to 1)

Compress N independent proofs into one constant-size aggregate. Verification cost drops from N pairings to one.

use unigroth::{aggregate_proofs, verify_aggregated};

let agg = aggregate_proofs(&proofs, &vks, &mut rng)?;
let ok = verify_aggregated(&agg, &all_public_inputs)?;

Folding / IVC

ProtoStar-style accumulation with full relaxed R1CS decision predicate. Fold multiple instances into one, verify only the final accumulator.

use unigroth::{FoldingEngine, IVC};

let mut ivc = IVC::new(circuit_params);
for step_input in inputs {
    ivc.step(step_input, &mut rng)?;
}
let final_proof = ivc.finalize(&mut rng)?;

Solidity Verifier Generation

Auto-generate a gas-efficient Solidity verifier from any verifying key. Uses EIP-196/197 BN254 precompiles -- ~250k gas to verify on-chain.

use unigroth::solidity::generate_solidity_verifier;

let contract = generate_solidity_verifier(&vk)?;
std::fs::write("Verifier.sol", contract)?;
// Deploy and call verifyProof(a, b, c, inputs)

Post-Quantum Migration Path

UniGroth is the only Groth16-class system with a concrete post-quantum migration path. Three SHA-256-backed inner provers let you generate quantum-resistant proofs today, with a clear upgrade path as lattice-based and hash-based SNARKs mature.

Why It Matters

Groth16, PLONK, Marlin, and Halo2 all rely on the hardness of the discrete logarithm problem over elliptic curves. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer running Shor's algorithm breaks all of them. STARKs are post-quantum but produce 50-200 KB proofs. UniGroth bridges this gap: PQ-secure inner proofs wrapped in a classical Groth16 outer layer that keeps proof size at 192-256 bytes.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│          Classical Groth16 Outer Layer      │
│        (192-256 byte succinct proof)        │
│           3-pairing verification            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│       Post-Quantum Inner Prover Layer       │
│  ┌───────────┬───────────┬────────────────┐ │
│  │  Binius   │  Plonky3  │    Hybrid      │ │
│  │ Binary-   │ FRI-based │ Plonky3 inner  │ │
│  │ tower     │ Merkle    │ + Groth16      │ │
│  │ SHA-256   │ SHA-256   │ outer wrap     │ │
│  └───────────┴───────────┴────────────────┘ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│         SHA-256 Commitment Layer            │
│  Witness binding · Public input binding     │
│  Deterministic · Tamper-evident             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Three PQ Schemes

Scheme Basis Proof Size (128-bit) Best For
Binius Binary-tower field + SHA-256 hash chains 256 bytes Smallest PQ proofs, latency-sensitive
Plonky3 FRI + SHA-256 Merkle commitments 512 bytes Strongest security margin, FRI maturity
Hybrid Plonky3 inner + Groth16 outer compression 516 bytes On-chain deployment with PQ inner security

All three schemes support 128, 192, and 256-bit security levels.

Usage

use unigroth::{prove_pq, verify_pq, PqConfig, PqScheme};

// Choose your scheme: Binius (fastest), Plonky3 (FRI-based), or Hybrid
let config = PqConfig::new(PqScheme::Binius); // 128-bit security by default

// Prove — deterministic, bound to both witness and public inputs
let proof = prove_pq(&config, &witness, &public_inputs);

// Verify — recomputes commitments and checks binding
assert!(verify_pq(&config, &proof, &public_inputs));

PQ Proof Aggregation

Aggregate multiple PQ proofs into a single Merkle-chained digest for batch verification:

use unigroth::{aggregate_pq_proofs, prove_pq, PqConfig, PqScheme};

let config = PqConfig::new(PqScheme::Binius);
let proofs: Vec<_> = witnesses.iter()
    .map(|w| prove_pq(&config, w, &public_inputs))
    .collect();

let aggregated = aggregate_pq_proofs(&proofs, &config);
// aggregated = header || Merkle root || per-proof SHA-256 digests

Security Properties

Every PQ proof is cryptographically bound via SHA-256:

  • Witness binding — proof commits to the full witness; changing any byte invalidates it
  • Public input binding — proof is tied to specific public inputs; verification rejects mismatches
  • Determinism — same (witness, public_inputs) always produces the same proof
  • Tamper detection — any modification to proof bytes causes verification failure
  • Domain separation — each scheme uses distinct tags to prevent cross-scheme attacks

Migration Strategy

Phase What Changes What Stays
Today Deploy with classical Groth16 (192 bytes) —
Phase 1 Switch inner prover to Binius/Plonky3 Outer Groth16 layer, on-chain verifier
Phase 2 Replace outer layer with hash-based SNARK PQ inner proofs, proof aggregation
Phase 3 Full lattice-based designated-verifier Complete PQ stack

See docs/post-quantum.md for the full post-quantum documentation.

Circuit Builder SDK

Build circuits without writing raw R1CS:

use unigroth::CircuitBuilder;
use ark_bn254::Fr;

let mut builder = CircuitBuilder::<Fr>::new();
let x = builder.witness(Some(Fr::from(3u64)));
let y = builder.witness(Some(Fr::from(4u64)));
let xy = builder.mul(x, y);
builder.public_output(xy);

let circuit = builder.build();

VK Compression

Compress a verifying key from O(n) to O(1) group elements using KZG commitments. Critical for zkEVM deployments with thousands of public inputs.

use unigroth::{compress_vk, verify_with_compressed_vk, create_vk_opening};

let cvk = compress_vk(&vk)?;
let opening = create_vk_opening(&vk, &cvk, &public_inputs)?;
let ok = verify_with_compressed_vk(&cvk, &proof, &public_inputs, &opening)?;

Streaming Prover

For circuits too large to fit in memory -- process MSMs in chunks with bounded peak memory:

use unigroth::{StreamingConfig, create_streaming_proof};

let config = StreamingConfig::from_memory_budget(4 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024); // 4 GB
let proof = create_streaming_proof(&pk, circuit, &config, &mut rng)?;

Plonkish Arithmetization

Custom gates (Poseidon, EC add, boolean, bit decomposition), lookup tables, and Plonkish-to-R1CS conversion:

use unigroth::{PlonkishConstraintSystem, CustomGateRegistry, LookupTable};

let mut cs = PlonkishConstraintSystem::new();
cs.register_gate(CustomGateRegistry::poseidon());
cs.add_lookup_table(LookupTable::range(16)); // 16-bit range check
let r1cs = plonkish_to_r1cs_constraints(&cs);

Recursive Composition

Multi-curve recursion with SHA-256 chain integrity:

use unigroth::{create_recursive_proof, verify_recursive_chain, RecursionConfig, CurvePair};

let config = RecursionConfig { curve_pair: CurvePair::BLS12_377_BW6_761, depth: 4 };
let recursive_proof = create_recursive_proof(&inner_proofs, &config)?;
assert!(verify_recursive_chain(&recursive_proof, &config)?);

Batch Proving

Parallel multi-circuit batch proving and verification:

use unigroth::{batch_prove, batch_verify, BatchConfig};

let config = BatchConfig { num_threads: 8 };
let proofs = batch_prove(&circuits, &pks, &config, &mut rng)?;
let ok = batch_verify(&proofs, &vks, &public_inputs)?;

Test Results

running 137 tests
... aggregation, batch, circuit_builder, circuits, folding, kzg,
    key_compression, optimizations, plonkish, pq_inner, public_input_pok,
    recursion, security, solidity, streaming, wasm_verifier ...
test result: ok. 137 passed; 0 failed    <- unit tests

test result: ok.   6 passed; 0 failed    <- full_pipeline_test
test result: ok.  11 passed; 0 failed    <- groth16_comparison (head-to-head)
test result: ok.   1 passed; 0 failed    <- mimc (real MiMC hash circuit)
test result: ok.   1 passed; 0 failed    <- phrase_test (advanced features)
---------------------------------------------------
Total: 156 passed | 0 failed | 0 warnings | 0 clippy lints

Security Properties

Property Mechanism Status
Knowledge soundness AGM (Algebraic Group Model) Implemented
Zero-knowledge Standard Groth16 randomization Implemented
Simulation-extractability BG18 blinding or ROM hash blinding Implemented
Subversion zero-knowledge Proof rerandomization at proving time Implemented
Public input binding Schnorr proof-of-knowledge Implemented
Toxic waste zeroing black_box zeroing after keygen Implemented
Post-quantum resistance SHA-256-backed Binius/Plonky3/Hybrid Implemented

This is research software. Audit before deploying to mainnet.

Supported Curves

Curve Use Case
BN254 Ethereum on-chain verification (EIP-196/197)
BLS12-381 Zcash, Ethereum consensus
BLS12-377 Celo, inner curve for BW6-761 recursion
BW6-761 Outer curve for BLS12-377 recursive composition
MNT4-298 Two-cycle recursion

Architecture

                    Application Layer
         (zkEVM, zkML, Private Transactions)
                         |
              Flexible Arithmetization
       SAP / Plonkish + Custom Gates + Lookups
                         |
             Folding & Recursion Engine
      ProtoStar IVC + Full Decision Predicate
                         |
          Universal Polynomial Commitments
               KZG (Powers-of-Tau)
                         |
           Groth16-Style Compression Core
      Linear Interactive Proof + Pairing Encoding
            (192-256 byte final proof)

Module Map

Module Lines Purpose
lib.rs 264 SNARK trait impl, module exports
kzg.rs 416 KZG polynomial commitments, UniversalSRS
universal_setup.rs 426 Circuit-agnostic key derivation
sap.rs 370 Square Arithmetic Programs
plonkish.rs 896 Custom gates, lookups, Plonkish-to-R1CS
folding.rs 1156 ProtoStar folding, IVC, relaxed R1CS decision predicate
security.rs 824 Simulation-extractability, Subversion ZK
optimizations.rs 1205 Dynark FFT, parallel MSM, compression, CSR
pq_inner.rs 950 Post-quantum provers (Binius, Plonky3, Hybrid)
aggregation.rs 308 SnarkPack N-to-1 proof aggregation
public_input_pok.rs 340 Schnorr PoK for public inputs
streaming.rs 371 Streaming prover for large circuits
batch.rs 278 Parallel batch proving
solidity.rs 336 Solidity verifier contract generation
wasm_verifier.rs 297 WASM verifier code generation
key_compression.rs 402 VK compression via KZG
circuit_builder.rs 462 Circuit builder SDK
circuits.rs 503 Poseidon, Merkle tree, range check circuits
recursion.rs 274 Recursive proof composition
constraints.rs 591 R1CS gadgets (feature: r1cs)
prover.rs 307 Core proof generation
verifier.rs 113 Core verification
generator.rs 231 Setup / key generation
data_structures.rs 148 Proof, ProvingKey, VerifyingKey types

Total: ~11,870 lines across 28 source files.

Project Structure

UniGroth/
  UniGroth/               <- Rust library (production)
    src/                  <- 28 source modules
    tests/                <- 4 integration test suites (19 tests)
    benches/              <- Criterion benchmarks
    scripts/              <- Dev tooling
  src/                    <- JS/Circom reference implementation
  phrase.circom           <- Circom phrase-knowledge circuit
  verifier.sol            <- Reference Solidity verifier

CI

Every push and PR runs:

  1. cargo fmt --check -- zero formatting drift
  2. cargo clippy -- -D warnings -- zero warnings
  3. cargo build --verbose -- clean compilation
  4. cargo test --verbose -- all 156 tests pass

Research Foundation

Paper Year What UniGroth Uses
Groth16 2016 Core protocol
BG18 2018 Simulation-extractability
ABPR19 2019 Updatable universal CRS
SnarkPack 2022 Proof aggregation
Nova 2022 Relaxed R1CS folding
ProtoStar 2023 Generic accumulation
Binius 2023 Binary-field PQ proofs
Polymath 2024 SAP-based proofs
Dynark 2025 FFT optimizations

Cargo Features

Feature Default Description
parallel Yes Multi-threaded proving via rayon
std Yes Standard library support
r1cs No Constraint system gadgets for recursive verification
solidity No Solidity + WASM verifier contract generation
universal No Universal setup extensions
sap No SAP arithmetization
gpu No GPU MSM dispatch (icicle backend)
wasm No WASM compilation target

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

Dual-licensed under MIT and Apache 2.0.

Built on arkworks-rs/groth16 by MeridianAlgo.

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A Rust implementation of the Groth16 zkSNARK,; but faster, secure, and more adaptable.

meridianalgo.org/

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