A16z Crypto, the cryptocurrency-focused division of venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, has released Jolt, a zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine that aims to accelerate and streamline blockchain scaling operations.

Jolt offers a framework designed for Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible roll-ups. It is described as a novel method to build SNARK VMs—a virtual machine proven via a SNARK. This could allow developers to create fast SNARK-based Layer 2 solutions compatible with Ethereum dApps, according to the firm. 

The team says that Jolt is "up to 2X faster" than the current zkVMs.

zkEVMs are designed to run smart contracts, similar to the traditional EVM, but with a key difference: they leverage zero-knowledge proofs. Besides Jolt, existing zkEVMs include Polygon zkEVM and …