Welcome to the first House of ZK Virtual Conference, the online extension of our highly successful global events series. This event aims to bring together industry thought leaders for collaborative discussion on the future of ZK via a combination of keynotes, panels, and interviews.
As the space continues to grow, collaboration among competitors becomes essential for the good of the industry. Through open dialogue, we aim to establish consensus on the principles guiding ZK’s development while promoting ethical competition to unlock its full potential for the broader digital ecosystem. Join us for this fraternal exploration of the most pressing issues in the world of zero-knowledge.
Conference Program
 1:30 pm
Introduction
 1:30 pm
Host, Alice Liu, will welcome guests to the conference and present the program, introducing the upcoming topics and participants. Alice will also provide an overview of the conference objectives, the aim of which is to emphasize the importance of collaborative discussion in the ZK space.
1:35 pm
Opening Keynote: The future of ZK
 1:30 pm
Ventali Tan, Co-Founder of Lita, will address the future of ZK, discussing our collective challenges and potential breakthroughs, highlighting the importance of continued research and collaboration, as well as the role of ZK in shaping the next generation of secure, scalable, interoperable, and private decentralized systems.
1:45 pm
Interview with Eli Ben-Sasson
 1:30 pm
Alice Liu will talk to Eli Ben-Sasson, Co-Founder & CEO of StarkWare, and the Co-Inventor of zkSTARK, FRI, and Zcash, about his recent introduction of Circle STARKs. The discussion will focus on the performance implications and potential applications, in addition to examining the technical and implementation distinctions from traditional STARKs. The goal is to provide clarity on when and why a project might choose one type of STARK over the other, or whether traditional STARKs will ultimately become obsolete.
2:30 pm
Workshop by ZKM: Presenting zkMIPS
 1:30 pm
This session by the ZKM team will dive into the technical intricacies of their zkVM, focusing specifically on:
 1:30 pm
An Overview of zkMIPS, with Alice Liu, Education Lead: Discussing the foundational concepts of zkMIPS and a brief exploration of its components.
 1:30 pm
Design Details, with Lucas Fraga, Senior Researcher: An evaluation of the architectural design choices behind zkMIPS and the structure of its proving process.
 1:30 pm
Code Walkthrough & Optimizations, with Stephen Duan, Developer Lead: An examination of critical sections of the codebase, highlighting implementation strategies and optimizations, and discussing the technical hurdles faced during development.
 1:30 pm
Use Cases & Developer Playground, with Pavel Sinelnikov, DevRel Lead: A brief exploration of the real-world scenarios where zkMIPS can be applied most effectively, plus an introduction to ZKM’s Developer Playground.
3:25 pm
Panel 1: zkVM Benchmarking Standards
 1:30 pm
Co-Host, Pavel Sinelnikov, will lead a discussion addressing the current state of zkVM benchmarking practices, the challenges associated with ensuring fair and reproducible results, and the importance of transparency and standardization. The panel will examine different approaches to benchmarking zkVMs, including the use of precompiles, proof systems, and the trade-offs between flexibility and performance. The objective is to establish a clearer understanding of what constitutes optimal benchmarking methods and to work towards a consensus on best practices across the industry.
 1:30 pm
Rolf Versluis, Co-Founder of Horizen
 1:30 pm
Michael, Co-Founder of Brevis
 1:30 pm
Ventali Tan, Co-Founder of Lita
 1:30 pm
Ismael Hishon-Rezaizadeh, Co-Founder of Lagrange Labs
4:15 pm
Panel 2: Custom Circuits vs zkVMs
 1:30 pm
Alice Liu will return to host a panel discussing the trade-offs between the high performance of custom circuits and the flexibility and ease of use offered by zkVMs. Topics will include the role of zkVMs in accelerating time-to-market for new projects, the potential for custom circuits to optimize performance in mature applications, and the future of ZK technology as it evolves to meet the needs of diverse use cases. This panel aims to provide insights into how developers can navigate the choice between custom circuits and zkVMs based on their project requirements.
 1:30 pm
Vanishree Rao, Founder of Fermah
 1:30 pm
David Wong, Founder of zkSecurity
 1:30 pm
Cecilia Zhang, ZK Engineer at Taiko Gwyneth
 1:30 pm
Daniel Lumi, Independent (Prev. zkSync)
5:05 pm
Workshop by Lita: zkVM Design
 1:30 pm
This session by the Lita team will offer a comprehensive exploration of zkVM design, with a focus on four critical subtopics:
 1:30 pm
Provers Design with Hadas Zeilberger, Cryptography Engineer at Lita: Examining the efficiency and optimization techniques in designing prover.
 1:30 pm
VM Design with Dan Dore, Cryptography Engineer at Lita: Analyzing the construction and architecture of zkVMs, including performance considerations.
 1:30 pm
Compiler Design with Morgan Thomas, Cryptography Engineer at Lita: Discussing the role and design considerations of compilers in zkVM systems.
 1:30 pm
VM-Hardware Co-Design with Mamy Ratsimbazafy, Cryptography Engineer at Lita: Exploring the design requirements for zkVM-specific hardware to enhance performance.
5:45 pm
Panel 3: Will ZK be bigger than blockchain?
 1:30 pm
Alice Liu will lead a discussion exploring the growing belief that ZK could surpass blockchain in impact and significance. The panelists will dive into the reasons behind this sentiment, examining the unique capabilities of ZK and how these features could extend beyond blockchain to revolutionize other industries. The discussion will also address the broader implications of ZK’s potential dominance and what it means for the future of our digital lives.
 1:30 pm
Clement Walter, Co-Founder of Kakarot
 1:30 pm
Avi Zurlo, CPO at Nil Foundation
 1:30 pm
Teemu Paivinen, Founder of Gevulot
 1:30 pm
Austin Baggio, Head of Program Strategy at o1Labs/Mina
 1:30 pm
Cobe Zhang, CEO of Zan
6:45 pm
Closing Keynote
 1:30 pm
Vanishree Rao, Founder and CEO of Fermah, will give the closing keynote, reflecting on the preceding panel and the general ethos of the conference. Vanishree will further highlight the potential of ZK and how its unique capabilities could extend beyond blockchain to revolutionize other industries, and emphasize the factors needed to realize the full potential of the industry, such as the importance of collaboration, ongoing dialogue, and the need to balance healthy competition with cooperation.