ZKsync has launched Airbender Prime, a prover capable of generating Ethereum proofs in real time using a single NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPU. The system achieved this performance by processing 7,200 mainnet blocks, where 99% of proofs were generated in under 10 seconds, with every block completed within 12 seconds.
The new prover currently holds the top position on the ETHproofs.org public leaderboard for speed, GPU efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Unlike previous iterations that utilized H100 hardware, Airbender Prime is designed to function on commodity hardware, supporting both institutional and independent operators.
Built on open-source RISC-V architecture, the system employs hash-based STARKs, which ZKsync identifies as quantum-resistant. The prover is already active across ZKsync-supported chains, following the company's previous Atlas upgrade.
Vitalik Buterin acknowledged the performance milestone, suggesting that the industry's focus should now shift from raw speed to security and formal verification. He emphasized the need for ensuring system correctness and establishing clear bounds on proving costs relative to Ethereum gas fees.
