In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt speaks with Alex Hicks from the Ethereum Foundation about formal verification and its role in the lean Ethereum vision. This is the 6th and final episode of the lean Ethereum mini-series. Nico and Alex explore what it means to produce machine-checked proofs across the ZK stack, from RISC-V and zkVMs to circuits, compilers, and cryptographic primitives, and how these pieces connect in practice.
The conversation also covers Alex’s path from physics and math into the ZK space, how the EF effort took shape, and the community push to formally verify the entire stack using proof assistants like Lean. They discuss efforts to formalize zkVM components, the tradeoffs between proof assistants and automated solvers, and what real progress looks like after a year and a half of focused work.
Related Links
- lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drake
- lean Ethereum Part 2: PQ Signatures and Poseidon with Dmitry and Benedikt
- lean Ethereum Part 3: Security of PQ SNARKs and an update about the Proximity Prize
- lean Ethereum Part 4: leanVM, a Custom VM for Signature Aggregation
- lean Ethereum Part 5: Devnets & Upgrade Coordination with Will and Raúl
- lean Ethereum
- Lean Consensus R&D Progress
- Lean Proof Assistant
- Isabelle Proof Assistant
- Ethereum Foundation
Applications to attend the zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early at www.zksummit.com
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