zk-STARK
A zero-knowledge proof that needs no trusted setup and resists quantum attacks — more scalable, larger proofs than SNARKs.
A zk-STARK (Zero-Knowledge Scalable Transparent Argument of Knowledge) is a zero-knowledge proof that improves on zk-SNARKs in two ways: it requires no trusted setup (removing that potential vulnerability), and it’s believed to be quantum-resistant. It also scales better for very large computations.
The trade-off is proof size — STARK proofs are larger than SNARK proofs, making them somewhat more expensive to post on-chain. STARKs power scaling systems like StarkNet. The SNARK-versus-STARK choice is a live engineering trade-off in zk-rollup design: transparency and future-proofing (STARK) versus compactness (SNARK). Both represent the maturation of zero-knowledge cryptography from academic theory into deployed infrastructure.