Inner Product Arguments (IPA) & Verkle Trees
Cryptographic primitives for Verkle tree state commitments and proofs
Inner Product Arguments (IPA) & Verkle Trees
IPA (Inner Product Arguments) provide the cryptographic foundation for Verkle trees, enabling efficient state proofs with smaller proof sizes than Merkle Patricia Trees.
Overview
Verkle trees with IPA provide:
- Smaller Proofs: ~150 bytes vs ~1 KB for Merkle proofs
- Efficient Updates: O(log n) complexity for state updates
- Constant Verification: Fixed verification cost regardless of tree depth
- State Commitment: Compact commitment to entire blockchain state
Technical Details
Bandersnatch Curve
The implementation uses the Bandersnatch curve:
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Curve | Bandersnatch (embedded in BLS12-381) |
| Field Size | 253 bits |
| Group Order | ~2^253 |
| Security Level | 128 bits |
IPA Parameters
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Vector Length | 256 |
| Number of Rounds | 8 (log2(256)) |
| Commitment Size | 32 bytes |
| Proof Size | ~544 bytes |
Implementation
Setting Up IPA
package main
import (
"fmt"
"github.com/luxfi/crypto/ipa/ipa"
"github.com/luxfi/crypto/ipa/banderwagon"
"github.com/luxfi/crypto/ipa/bandersnatch/fr"
)
func main() {
// Initialize IPA settings (generates SRS)
config, err := ipa.NewIPASettings()
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
fmt.Printf("SRS contains %d points\n", len(config.SRS))
fmt.Printf("Number of rounds: %d\n", config.NumRounds())
}Pedersen Commitments
Create commitments to polynomials:
func commitToPolynomial(config *ipa.IPAConfig, polynomial []fr.Element) banderwagon.Element {
// Commit using precomputed MSM
commitment := config.Commit(polynomial)
fmt.Printf("Commitment: %x\n", commitment.Bytes())
return commitment
}
// Create polynomial from data
func createPolynomial(data []byte) []fr.Element {
poly := make([]fr.Element, 256)
for i := 0; i < len(data) && i < 256; i++ {
poly[i].SetUint64(uint64(data[i]))
}
return poly
}Inner Product Computation
Compute inner products of vectors:
func computeInnerProduct(a, b []fr.Element) (fr.Element, error) {
if len(a) != len(b) {
return fr.Element{}, errors.New("vectors must have same length")
}
result, err := ipa.InnerProd(a, b)
if err != nil {
return fr.Element{}, err
}
fmt.Printf("Inner product: %s\n", result.String())
return result, nil
}Multi-Scalar Multiplication
Efficient MSM for group operations:
func multiScalarMult(points []banderwagon.Element, scalars []fr.Element) (banderwagon.Element, error) {
result, err := ipa.MultiScalar(points, scalars)
if err != nil {
return banderwagon.Element{}, err
}
return result, nil
}Verkle Tree Structure
Node Types
type VerkleNode interface {
Commitment() banderwagon.Element
Hash() []byte
}
type InternalNode struct {
children [256]VerkleNode
commitment banderwagon.Element
}
type LeafNode struct {
stem [31]byte
values [256][]byte
commitment banderwagon.Element
}
type EmptyNode struct{}Tree Operations
type VerkleTree struct {
root VerkleNode
config *ipa.IPAConfig
}
func NewVerkleTree(config *ipa.IPAConfig) *VerkleTree {
return &VerkleTree{
root: &EmptyNode{},
config: config,
}
}
// Insert a key-value pair
func (t *VerkleTree) Insert(key []byte, value []byte) error {
stem := key[:31]
suffix := key[31]
// Navigate to leaf, creating nodes as needed
// Update commitments along the path
return nil
}
// Get a value by key
func (t *VerkleTree) Get(key []byte) ([]byte, error) {
stem := key[:31]
suffix := key[31]
// Navigate to leaf
// Return value at suffix position
return nil, nil
}
// Generate proof for a key
func (t *VerkleTree) Prove(key []byte) (*VerkleProof, error) {
// Generate IPA proof for the path
return nil, nil
}IPA Proof Generation
Prover
type IPAProver struct {
config *ipa.IPAConfig
}
func (p *IPAProver) CreateProof(
commitment banderwagon.Element,
polynomial []fr.Element,
point fr.Element,
) (*IPAProof, error) {
// Generate IPA proof that polynomial evaluates to
// a specific value at the given point
proof := &IPAProof{
L: make([]banderwagon.Element, p.config.NumRounds()),
R: make([]banderwagon.Element, p.config.NumRounds()),
}
// Prover algorithm:
// 1. Split vectors in half
// 2. Compute cross terms L and R
// 3. Get challenge from verifier (Fiat-Shamir)
// 4. Fold vectors
// 5. Repeat for log(n) rounds
return proof, nil
}
type IPAProof struct {
L []banderwagon.Element // Left cross terms
R []banderwagon.Element // Right cross terms
A fr.Element // Final scalar
}Verifier
type IPAVerifier struct {
config *ipa.IPAConfig
}
func (v *IPAVerifier) VerifyProof(
commitment banderwagon.Element,
point fr.Element,
evaluation fr.Element,
proof *IPAProof,
) bool {
// Verify IPA proof
// Verifier algorithm:
// 1. Recompute challenges from L, R values
// 2. Compute final commitment
// 3. Check against claimed evaluation
return true
}Multi-Proof System
Efficient proofs for multiple keys:
type MultiProof struct {
D banderwagon.Element // Commitment to quotient polynomial
IPAProof *IPAProof // IPA proof for evaluation
ClaimedValues []fr.Element // Values at queried positions
}
func CreateMultiProof(
config *ipa.IPAConfig,
commitments []banderwagon.Element,
polynomials [][]fr.Element,
points []fr.Element,
) (*MultiProof, error) {
// Create proof for multiple polynomial evaluations
return nil, nil
}
func VerifyMultiProof(
config *ipa.IPAConfig,
commitments []banderwagon.Element,
points []fr.Element,
values []fr.Element,
proof *MultiProof,
) bool {
// Verify multi-proof
return true
}State Management
State Commitment
type StateCommitment struct {
Root banderwagon.Element
BlockNum uint64
StateRoot []byte
}
func (s *StateCommitment) Update(changes map[string][]byte) (*StateCommitment, error) {
// Apply changes to state tree
// Recompute affected commitments
// Return new state commitment
return nil, nil
}Witness Generation
type ExecutionWitness struct {
StateDiff []KeyValuePair
VerkleProof *MultiProof
ParentState []byte
}
func GenerateWitness(
tree *VerkleTree,
accessedKeys [][]byte,
) (*ExecutionWitness, error) {
// Generate witness for accessed state
return nil, nil
}Performance Benchmarks
| Operation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Commit (256 values) | 2.5 ms | Using precomputed MSM |
| IPA Prove | 15 ms | 8 rounds |
| IPA Verify | 8 ms | Single proof |
| Multi-proof (100 keys) | 150 ms | Batched |
| Multi-verify (100 keys) | 50 ms | Batched |
Proof Sizes
| Proof Type | Size |
|---|---|
| Single IPA proof | 544 bytes |
| Verkle proof (depth 4) | ~600 bytes |
| Multi-proof (10 keys) | ~1.5 KB |
| Multi-proof (100 keys) | ~3 KB |
Comparison with Merkle Trees
| Aspect | Merkle Patricia | Verkle |
|---|---|---|
| Proof size | ~1-3 KB | ~150-600 bytes |
| Update complexity | O(log n) | O(log n) |
| Verification | O(log n) hashes | O(1) pairings |
| Witness size | Large | Small |
| Statelessness | Difficult | Feasible |
Security Properties
Binding
// Commitments are computationally binding
// Cannot find two different polynomials with same commitment
func demonstrateBinding() {
config, _ := ipa.NewIPASettings()
poly1 := make([]fr.Element, 256)
poly2 := make([]fr.Element, 256)
poly1[0].SetUint64(1)
poly2[0].SetUint64(2)
c1 := config.Commit(poly1)
c2 := config.Commit(poly2)
// c1 != c2 with overwhelming probability
}Soundness
// Cannot create valid proof for incorrect evaluation
// Soundness relies on discrete log hardness in Bandersnatch
func testSoundness(t *testing.T) {
// Create proof for correct evaluation
// Try to verify with wrong evaluation value
// Must fail
require.False(t, verifier.VerifyProof(commitment, point, wrongValue, proof))
}Integration with Lux
Block State Root
type LuxBlock struct {
Header *BlockHeader
Transactions []*Transaction
VerkleRoot banderwagon.Element
}
func (b *LuxBlock) ComputeStateRoot(tree *VerkleTree) {
b.VerkleRoot = tree.root.Commitment()
}Stateless Validation
type StatelessValidator struct {
config *ipa.IPAConfig
}
func (v *StatelessValidator) ValidateBlock(
block *LuxBlock,
witness *ExecutionWitness,
) error {
// Verify witness against parent state
// Execute transactions using witness data
// Verify resulting state matches block state root
return nil
}Testing
func TestIPACommitment(t *testing.T) {
config, err := ipa.NewIPASettings()
require.NoError(t, err)
// Create polynomial
poly := make([]fr.Element, 256)
for i := 0; i < 256; i++ {
poly[i].SetUint64(uint64(i))
}
// Commit
commitment := config.Commit(poly)
require.False(t, commitment.IsIdentity())
// Same polynomial should give same commitment
commitment2 := config.Commit(poly)
require.True(t, commitment.Equal(&commitment2))
// Different polynomial should give different commitment
poly[0].SetUint64(999)
commitment3 := config.Commit(poly)
require.False(t, commitment.Equal(&commitment3))
}