Space and Time (SxT), the zero-knowledge data specialist, has announced a new performance benchmark for its ZK processor. In tests, its Proof of SQL technology has achieved sub-second speeds while working with SQL queries involving more than one million rows of data. The breakthrough means that SxT officially offers the fastest product of its kind when it comes to data proving.
The reason why Space and Time’s tech is so rapid is thanks in no small part to NVIDIA, whose GPUs provide the accelerated computing required to achieve sub-second proofs. This capability is further reinforced by a custom GPU framework that SxT has designed. This open-source technology is also available to third-party developers to use in powering their own ZK-proofs.
Space and Time hits top speed
Proof of SQL is SxT’s flagship product and the one that most clearly delineates the value it has to add in the context of data processing. Designed for enterprises as well as DeFi projects looking to feed data into smart contracts, the company’s ZK coprocessor is characterized by its speed and accuracy. Combined with the ability to prove that data hasn’t been tampered with, this makes for an extremely powerful technology when used to extract data from SQL databases.
Enterprises especially are reliant on SQL databases, often using cloud solutions such as Google BigQuery to meet their needs. Challenges emerge, however, when attempting to take data from such centralized sources and place it in a decentralized environment. Blockchains aren’t capable of verifying data concerning events that occur off-chain, which means that when SQL data is fed into a smart contract, it has no way of knowing if this data is accurate or whether it has been tampered with along the way. This is the problem that SxT solves with its Proof of SQL – and now solves faster than ever.
Dapp data on demand
The primary outlet for Space and Time’s tech is decentralized applications (dapps), which make use of smart contracts. With Proof of SQL delivering the data rapidly, smart contracts can take action based on events that occur off-chain, or on information that is stored on external databases. This capability allows web3 developers to create powerful dapps for things like high-frequency trading, RWAs, and of course AI.
Indeed, artificial intelligence is one of the onchain verticals that Space and Time is targeting with its ZK coprocessor, which has been further boosted by the launch of the project’s mainnet. The mainnet deployment means dapps can access indexed data from leading blockchains such as Ethereum, with this data delivered on SxT’s mainnet in a decentralized fashion thanks to an army of validators. Using Proof of SQL, developers can plug this data into their smart contracts.
The quest for smarter Smart Contracts
Space and Time’s Proof of SQL isn’t just for web3 developers: it’s equally suited to enterprises creating traditional web2 solutions that draw information from SQL databases. But it’s onchain that the power of Space and Time’s technology, when compared to incumbent solutions, really shows its strength. Ultimately, it means that smart contracts can become smarter, drawing data from a rich variety of sources without any latency in delivery, and with full integrity in the validity of that data.
At present, the smart contracts underpinning most dapps are fairly limited in terms of what they can do, such as updating a price based on a specific onchain event, or unlocking a token when a smart contract on another chain has locked up the same token. Once smart contracts are fed sub-second proofs, however, everything can be done lightning-fast, whether working with on- or off-chain data. This paves the way for AI-powered dapps, financial applications, and other use cases, all fed by large datasets.
