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Redshift: a transparent SNARK with a universal setup

Redshift. Assimakis Kattis, Konstantin Panarin and Alexander Vlasov.

Redshift proposes a SNARK with a universal and updatable setup, in the transparent-setup line, aimed at proving general circuits without a fresh ceremony per circuit.

A reading of the project's public design document. Not a copy, not a benchmark, and not an offer.

Redshift proposes a SNARK with a universal and updatable setup, in the transparent-setup line, aimed at proving general circuits without a fresh ceremony per circuit.
Evidence
Primary paper
Re-measured
No
Assumptions
3
Records linked
3

01 Claim ledger

What the paper is allowed to say

Each row is a sentence already in the study. The status is the same on every row: a model claim, not a live measurement.

  1. Claim 01 · Paper model

    The defect

    Universal setup means one setup for many circuits. It does not mean the setup is free of assumptions, and it does not name which rollup uses it.

  2. Claim 02 · Paper model

    The proposal

    Redshift proposes a SNARK with a universal and updatable setup, in the transparent-setup line, aimed at proving general circuits without a fresh ceremony per circuit.

  3. Claim 03 · Paper model

    The mechanism

    The paper's commitment scheme and the polynomial protocol are the mechanism. A product that cites Redshift still has to say which version.

  4. Claim 04 · Paper model

    The bound

    This note does not say any current zkEVM runs this construction unmodified.

02 Three cuts

Observation, model, falsifier

A desk does not stop at the summary. Each claim is cut three ways, using only this study's own assumptions and checks. Nothing here is a new figure.

  1. 01 The defect

    Observation

    What the study says

    Universal setup means one setup for many circuits. It does not mean the setup is free of assumptions, and it does not name which rollup uses it.

    Model

    What has to hold

    You are reading ePrint 2019/1400, not a zkSync release note.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    What is universal: the setup, the circuit, or both, in the paper's definitions?

  2. 02 The proposal

    Observation

    What the study says

    Redshift proposes a SNARK with a universal and updatable setup, in the transparent-setup line, aimed at proving general circuits without a fresh ceremony per circuit.

    Model

    What has to hold

    The document is the one at the source URL. A marketing page with the same brand is not this text.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    What is universal: the setup, the circuit, or both, in the paper's definitions?

  3. 03 The mechanism

    Observation

    What the study says

    The paper's commitment scheme and the polynomial protocol are the mechanism. A product that cites Redshift still has to say which version.

    Model

    What has to hold

    No price, supply, yield, or adoption figure is added by this desk.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    Which deployed system cites this paper, and which version?

  4. 04 The bound

    Observation

    What the study says

    This note does not say any current zkEVM runs this construction unmodified.

    Model

    What has to hold

    You are reading ePrint 2019/1400, not a zkSync release note.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    What is universal: the setup, the circuit, or both, in the paper's definitions?

03 Sequence

One action, as an operating tape

  1. 01The paper's commitment scheme and the polynomial protocol are the mechanism. A product that cites Redshift still has to say which version.
  2. 02zkSync's later stacks are deployments in a family. They are not this PDF.
  3. 03A universal setup that is not actually updated under the paper's rules is just a setup.

04 Load-bearing

The argument, and where a pitch drops it

  1. What the name has to mean

    The cut

    Redshift proposes a SNARK with a universal and updatable setup, in the transparent-setup line, aimed at proving general circuits without a fresh ceremony per circuit.

    Why it carries weight

    If this cut is skipped, the paper's name is being used without the mechanism that makes the name mean anything.

    Where it is dropped

    A later client, parameter or reward formula is a different object from this paragraph.

  2. What actually moves

    The cut

    zkSync's later stacks are deployments in a family. They are not this PDF.

    Why it carries weight

    If this cut is skipped, the paper's name is being used without the mechanism that makes the name mean anything.

    Where it is dropped

    A later client, parameter or reward formula is a different object from this paragraph.

  3. What a later deployment may change

    The cut

    A universal setup that is not actually updated under the paper's rules is just a setup.

    Why it carries weight

    If this cut is skipped, the paper's name is being used without the mechanism that makes the name mean anything.

    Where it is dropped

    A later client, parameter or reward formula is a different object from this paragraph.

05 Register

What has to be true

  • Model · Not re-measured

    You are reading ePrint 2019/1400, not a zkSync release note.

  • Model · Not re-measured

    The document is the one at the source URL. A marketing page with the same brand is not this text.

  • Model · Not re-measured

    No price, supply, yield, or adoption figure is added by this desk.

06 Divergence

What happened after the paper

PLONK and Halo are neighbouring designs and separate studies.

A later client, parameter set, or reward formula is a different object. Cite this paper for the mechanism. Cite a primary release for the network. This desk has not re-run the proof.

07 Pre-mortem

What to check before you use the idea

  4. 0 of 3 marked on this browser. A mark is a reading note, not a pass, a rating, or a recommendation.

08 Anatomy

The paper, in the order a builder needs

The problem it names

Universal setup means one setup for many circuits. It does not mean the setup is free of assumptions, and it does not name which rollup uses it.

What the design proposes

  • The paper's commitment scheme and the polynomial protocol are the mechanism. A product that cites Redshift still has to say which version.
  • zkSync's later stacks are deployments in a family. They are not this PDF.
  • A universal setup that is not actually updated under the paper's rules is just a setup.

How the mechanism is specified

  • The paper's commitment scheme and the polynomial protocol are the mechanism. A product that cites Redshift still has to say which version.
  • zkSync's later stacks are deployments in a family. They are not this PDF.
  • A universal setup that is not actually updated under the paper's rules is just a setup.

What this page does not treat as proven

  • This note does not say any current zkEVM runs this construction unmodified.
  • It quotes no proof size.
  • PLONK and Halo are neighbouring designs and separate studies.

Why the desk still reads it

Redshift proposes a SNARK with a universal and updatable setup, in the transparent-setup line, aimed at proving general circuits without a fresh ceremony per circuit.

09 Lexicon

Terms, opened into the record

Universal setup
Parameters that can serve more than one circuit.
Transparent
A setup assumption the paper claims is public. Read the assumption. Do not treat the adjective as the proof.

10 Repository

Every linked record on this page

Underlined words open a page that already exists: a concept, a protocol profile, a failure record, or another paper. If a word is not underlined, this desk does not have a record for it.

Concepts

This is Blockchain Lab's reading of a public design paper. It is not the paper, not a copy of it, and not an offer of tokens, equity, custody or a partnership. Later network behaviour can diverge from the text. Nothing here is investment, legal or technical advice.

Research status: Design paper. Last reviewed: 1 October 2026. This is a reading of a public paper, not investment, legal or security advice.