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Version: 0.14

FAQ

How is privacy implemented in Miden?​

Miden leverages zero-knowledge proofs and client side execution and proving to provide security and privacy.

Does Miden support encrypted notes?​

At the moment, Miden does not have support for encrypted notes but it is a planned feature.

Why does Miden have delegated proving?​

Miden leverages delegated proving for a few technical and practical reasons:

  1. Computational: Generating zero-knowledge proofs is a computationally intensive work. The proving process requires significant processing power and memory, making it impractical for some end-user devices (like smartphones) to generate.
  2. Technical architecture: Miden's architecture separates concerns between:
    • Transaction Creation: End users create and sign transactions
    • Proof Generation: Specialized provers generate validity proofs
    • Verification: The network verifies these proofs
  3. Proving efficiency: Delegated provers can use optimized hardware that wouldn't be available to end-user devices, specifically designed for the mathematical operations needed in STARK proof generation.

What is the lifecycle of a transaction?​

1. Transaction Creation​

  • User creates a transaction specifying the operations to perform (transfers, contract interactions, etc.)
  • Client performs preliminary validation of the transaction and its structure
  • The user authorizes the specified state transitions by signing the transaction

2. Transaction Submission​

  • The signed transaction is submitted to Miden network nodes
  • The transaction enters the mempool (transaction pool) where it waits to be selected to be included in the state
  • Nodes perform basic validation checks on the transaction structure and signature

3. Transaction Selection​

  • A sequencer (or multiple sequencers in a decentralized setting) selects transactions from the mempool
  • The sequencer groups transactions into bundles based on state access patterns and other criteria
  • The transaction execution order is determined according to protocol mechanism

4. Transaction Execution​

  • The current state relevant to the transaction is loaded
  • The Miden VM executes the transaction operations
  • State Transition Computation: The resulting state transitions are computed
  • An execution trace of the transaction is generated which captures all the computation

5. Proof Generation​

  • A STARK based cryptographic proof is generated attesting to the correctness of the execution
  • A proof for the aggregated transaction is created

6. Block Production​

  • The aggregated bundle of transactions along with their proofs are assembled into a block
  • A recursive proof attesting to all bundle proofs is generated
  • The block data structure is finalized with the aggregated proof

7. L1 Submission​

  • Transaction data is posted to the data availability layer
  • The block proof and state delta commitment are submitted to the Miden contract (that is bridged to Ethereum/Agglayer)
  • The L1 contract verifies validity of the proof
  • Upon successful verification, the L1 contract updates the state root

8. Finalization​

  • Transaction receipts and events are generated
  • The global state commitment is updated to reflect the new state
  • The transaction is now considered finalized on the L1
  • Users and indexers get notified/updated about the transaction completion

Do notes in Miden support recency conditions?​

Yes, Miden enables consumption of notes based on time conditions, such as:

  • A specific block height being reached
  • A timestamp threshold being passed
  • An oracle providing specific data
  • Another transaction being confirmed

What does a Miden operator do in Miden?​

A Miden operator is an entity that maintains the infrastructure necessary for the functioning of the Miden layer 2. Their roles may involve:

  1. Running Sequencer Nodes
  2. Operating the Prover Infrastructure
  3. Submitting Proofs to L1
  4. Maintaining Data Availability
  5. Participating in the Consensus Mechanism

How does bridging works in Miden?​

Miden does not yet have a fully operational bridge, work in progress.

What does the gas fee model of Miden look like?​

Miden does not yet have a fully implemented fee model, work in progress.