Nova Pallas/Vesta in the kernel: how IONA OS does recursive proofs without trusted setup
Nova Pallas/Vesta in the kernel: how IONA OS does recursive proofs without trusted setup
内核中的 Nova Pallas/Vesta：IONA OS 如何在无需可信设置的情况下实现递归证明
Most blockchains verify transactions one by one. IONA Protocol verifies thousands at once — inside the kernel, using recursive SNARKs. I’ve been building IONA OS — a sovereign operating system written entirely in Rust — for the past 13 years. But IONA OS is not just an operating system. It has a native L1 blockchain protocol integrated into the kernel itself. And that blockchain protocol does something most others don’t: it verifies transactions recursively, using Nova, a folding scheme that requires no trusted setup. Here’s how I built it — and why it matters.
大多数区块链逐一验证交易。IONA 协议则通过递归 SNARKs 在内核中一次性验证数千笔交易。在过去的 13 年里，我一直在构建 IONA OS——一个完全用 Rust 编写的主权操作系统。但 IONA OS 不仅仅是一个操作系统，它在内核中集成了一个原生的 L1 区块链协议。该区块链协议实现了一个大多数协议所不具备的功能：它使用 Nova（一种无需可信设置的折叠方案）递归地验证交易。以下是我构建它的过程及其重要性。
What is Nova and why does it matter?
什么是 Nova，它为何重要？
Most blockchains verify transactions one by one. Each transaction requires its own proof, its own verification, its own computational cost. Nova is a folding scheme — a cryptographic technique that takes two proofs and “folds” them into one. This means you can verify thousands of transactions with the same cost as verifying a single one. This is revolutionary for several reasons:
- Scalability: The cost of verification does not grow with the number of transactions.
- No trusted setup: Unlike earlier SNARKs (like Groth16), Nova does not require a trusted ceremony. There is no single point of failure.
- Recursive: A proof can be verified, and that verification can be folded into the next proof.
大多数区块链逐一验证交易。每笔交易都需要自己的证明、验证和计算成本。Nova 是一种折叠方案——一种将两个证明“折叠”为一个证明的密码学技术。这意味着你可以用验证单笔交易的成本来验证数千笔交易。这在几个方面具有革命性意义：
- 可扩展性： 验证成本不会随着交易数量的增加而增加。
- 无需可信设置： 与早期的 SNARKs（如 Groth16）不同，Nova 不需要可信仪式，不存在单点故障。
- 递归性： 一个证明可以被验证，而该验证过程可以被折叠进下一个证明中。
Nova is used in cutting‑edge projects like Zcash and Halo2. But I didn’t want to just use Nova. I wanted to integrate it into the kernel itself.
Nova 被用于 Zcash 和 Halo2 等前沿项目中。但我不想仅仅使用 Nova，我想将其集成到内核本身中。
What are Pallas and Vesta?
什么是 Pallas 和 Vesta？
Pallas and Vesta are two elliptic curves that form a cryptographic cycle (also known as Pasta Curves). A curve cycle is essential for recursive proofs: A proof on Pallas can be verified by a circuit on Vesta. A proof on Vesta can be verified by a circuit on Pallas. This allows for unbounded recursion — you can keep folding proofs indefinitely, each time verifying the previous one. These curves were specifically designed for this purpose. They are used in Zcash’s Halo2 and other advanced cryptographic systems. But in IONA OS, they are not a separate library. They are built into the kernel.
Pallas 和 Vesta 是两条构成密码学循环的椭圆曲线（也称为 Pasta 曲线）。曲线循环对于递归证明至关重要：Pallas 上的证明可以由 Vesta 上的电路验证，反之亦然。这允许无限递归——你可以无限期地折叠证明，每次都验证前一个证明。这些曲线是专门为此目的设计的，被用于 Zcash 的 Halo2 和其他高级密码系统中。但在 IONA OS 中，它们不是独立的库，而是内置于内核中。
Why integrate Nova into the kernel?
为什么要将 Nova 集成到内核中？
Most blockchains run as separate daemons on top of an existing operating system. IONA Protocol does not. It runs inside the kernel — in Ring 0, with direct access to hardware and to the rest of the operating system. This integration gives me several unique advantages:
大多数区块链作为独立守护进程运行在现有操作系统之上。IONA 协议则不然，它运行在内核内部（Ring 0），可以直接访问硬件和操作系统的其余部分。这种集成赋予了我几个独特的优势：
| Advantage | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Performance | No context switching between kernel and userspace. Verification happens at the lowest possible level. |
| Security | The verification logic is part of the trusted computing base. It cannot be tampered with by userspace processes. |
| Integration | The proof system is directly connected to the mempool, the consensus engine, and the storage layer. |
| Sovereignty | No external dependencies. No third‑party libraries. Everything is written from scratch, in Rust. |
| 优势 | 重要性 |
|---|---|
| 性能 | 内核与用户空间之间无需上下文切换。验证发生在尽可能低的层级。 |
| 安全性 | 验证逻辑是可信计算基的一部分，不会被用户空间进程篡改。 |
| 集成 | 证明系统直接连接到内存池、共识引擎和存储层。 |
| 主权 | 无外部依赖，无第三方库。一切皆由 Rust 从零编写。 |
How it works in practice
实际运作方式
The Nova implementation in IONA Protocol is not a separate module. It is woven into the blockchain subsystem.
- Step 1: Transaction accumulation: Transactions are collected into blocks by the DAG consensus engine. But instead of verifying each transaction separately, the system accumulates them into a folded proof.
- Step 2: Folding: Using the Nova folding scheme, the system folds the proofs of all transactions in the block into a single proof. This folding happens incrementally — as each transaction is added, its proof is folded into the existing proof.
- Step 3: Verification: The final folded proof is verified once, at the kernel level. This verification is fast — it does not grow with the number of transactions.
- Step 4: Commitment: The verified proof is committed to the blockchain. The state root is updated, and the block is finalised. All of this happens inside the kernel, without any userspace involvement.
IONA 协议中的 Nova 实现不是一个独立的模块，而是编织在区块链子系统中。
- 第一步：交易累积： 交易由 DAG 共识引擎收集到区块中。系统不会单独验证每笔交易，而是将它们累积成一个折叠证明。
- 第二步：折叠： 使用 Nova 折叠方案，系统将区块中所有交易的证明折叠成一个单一证明。这种折叠是增量进行的——每添加一笔交易，其证明就会被折叠进现有证明中。
- 第三步：验证： 最终的折叠证明在内核级别进行一次性验证。这种验证速度很快，且不会随交易数量增加而变慢。
- 第四步：提交： 验证后的证明被提交到区块链。状态根被更新，区块最终确定。所有这些都在内核内部完成，无需任何用户空间参与。
What this means for users
这对用户意味着什么
-
Scalability: The protocol can handle thousands of transactions per second, because verification cost is constant.
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Privacy: Recursive proofs enable private transactions (the sender, amount, and recipient can be hidden).
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Trust: No trusted setup means no one needs to be trusted. The system is trustless from day one.
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Performance: Kernel‑native verification is faster than any userspace implementation.
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可扩展性： 由于验证成本是恒定的，协议每秒可处理数千笔交易。
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隐私性： 递归证明实现了隐私交易（发送者、金额和接收者均可隐藏）。
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信任： 无需可信设置意味着无需信任任何人。系统从第一天起就是去信任化的。
-
性能： 内核原生的验证速度比任何用户空间实现都要快。
What this means for the ecosystem
这对生态系统意味着什么
IONA Protocol is not just another L1. It is a kernel‑native, recursively verifiable blockchain. It scales without sacrificing security. It is private without requiring trusted parties. It is sovereign — it depends on no external libraries or services. And it is launching on September 15, 2026, as part of IONA OS.
IONA 协议不仅仅是另一个 L1，它是一个内核原生、可递归验证的区块链。它在不牺牲安全性的前提下实现了扩展，在无需可信方的情况下实现了隐私，并且具备主权——不依赖任何外部库或服务。它将于 2026 年 9 月 15 日作为 IONA OS 的一部分发布。
The code
代码
You can find the Nova Pallas/Vesta implementation in the IONA OS repository: github.com/Ionablokchain/Iona-OS. The code is written in Rust, runs in Ring 0, and is part of the IONA Protocol subsystem.
你可以在 IONA OS 仓库中找到 Nova Pallas/Vesta 的实现：github.com/Ionablokchain/Iona-OS。代码由 Rust 编写，运行在 Ring 0，是 IONA 协议子系统的一部分。
Final thoughts
结语
Building Nova Pallas/Vesta into the kernel was one of the hardest things I’ve done. But it’s also one of the most rewarding. Because now I have a blockchain protocol that can verify thousands of transactions with constant cost, without trusting anyone, and without leaving the kernel. IONA OS launches on September 15, 2026.
将 Nova Pallas/Vesta 构建到内核中是我做过的最困难的事情之一，但也是最有成就感的事情之一。因为现在我拥有了一个区块链协议，它能以恒定的成本验证数千笔交易，无需信任任何人，且无需离开内核。IONA OS 将于 2026 年 9 月 15 日发布。