Dogecoin would possibly’ve began as a joke, however this improve isn’t one.
DogeOS, the app layer developed by the MyDoge pockets group, has submitted a formal proposal to Dogecoin Core that introduces a brand new opcode that will allow the community to confirm zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) natively.
Builders goal to rework an unused a part of the script system right into a device that may confirm cryptographic proofs, beginning with ‘Groth16’ (a selected sort of proof extensively utilized in zk techniques) and permitting for future upgrades.
This may allow Dogecoin to assist extra superior, off-chain purposes, akin to rollups and good contracts, whereas sustaining the primary chain’s velocity and ease.
The strategy is modular by design as proof techniques are mode-selectable, and the opcode habits is strictly opt-in. If the proof verifies, the script proceeds; if not, it fails. Outdated nodes stay suitable, treating the opcode as a no-op. No shock forks, no VM bloat.
“The OP_CHECKZKP proposal marks a serious technical step ahead for Dogecoin,” the DogeOS group wrote within the proposal. “It expands the proof-of-work blockchain from a primary cost system right into a platform able to supporting DeFi, gaming, id, and different verifiable on-chain purposes.”
In contrast to Ethereum’s VM-heavy mannequin, Dogecoin’s imaginative and prescient is minimal and pragmatic: computation stays off-chain; Dogecoin simply checks the receipts.
“Dogecoin gaining the power to combine with ZK L2s is the type of interoperability we have to construct ecosystem utility,” stated Tim Stebbing, director of the Dogecoin Basis. “It permits the L1 to deal with being the quickest, finest, most enjoyable blockchain and technique of change for all humanity.”
DogeOS additionally acknowledged that it was growing an EVM-compatible zkVM — a digital machine that can allow Ethereum-native purposes to run immediately on Dogecoin infrastructure.
Nonetheless, none of this comes with out trade-offs. Verifying a Groth16 proof takes 10–20ms, and you’ll’t cram tons of of proofs right into a 1MB block with out operating into validation delays.
That’s why the proposal consists of strict limits of 1 ZKP per script, 5 per block, at the very least for the beginning. The transfer comes as institutional curiosity in DOGE riles up in current week, with corporations like Bit Origin securing as much as $500 million in funding to construct a Dogecoin treasury.