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RFC-0130: ZK-STARK Primitive Layer

Status: DRAFT
Version: 0.1.0
Layer: L1.5 (Identity & Privacy Substrate)
Class: FOUNDATIONAL / PRIVACY
Author: Markus Maiwald
Date: 2026-02-04
Depends On: RFC-0120 (QVL), RFC-0250 (Larval Identity), RFC-0648 (Hamiltonian Dynamics)
Related: RFC-0121 (Slash Protocol), RFC-0315 (Access Toll Protocol), RFC-0205 (ChapterPassport)
Supersedes: Trusted-setup ZK (SNARKs), Non-post-quantum proofs

This RFC defines HOW PROOFS PRESERVE PRIVACY WITHOUT POWER.
Not through trust. Through transparency.

Kein Setup, kein Gott—nur Mathe.

1. ABSTRACT

Libertaria demands proofs of properties (reputation, balance, membership) without leaking underlying data. RFC-0130 specifies ZK-STARK integration: Zero-Knowledge Scalable Transparent Arguments of Knowledge.

STARKs chosen over SNARKs:

No trusted setup (no toxic waste)
Post-quantum resistant
Fully transparent

Kenya Compliance: Recursive compression—reducing proofs from 45-200 KB to 2-5 KB.

2. STARK VS SNARK DECISION

Criterion	ZK-SNARK	ZK-STARK
Trusted Setup	Yes (toxic waste risk)	No (transparent)
Post-Quantum	No	Yes
Proof Size	~200 bytes	~45-200 KB (compressible)
Verification	O(1) fast	O(log n)
Prover Cost	Medium	High (but parallelizable)
Kenya Fit	✓ (small)	△ (large; compress)

Verdict: STARKs for Libertaria: No hidden power, future-proof.

3. THE STARK CIRCUITS

3.1 MembershipCircuit

Purpose: Proves membership in Merkle tree without revealing index
Util: Anonymous voting, mint-window admission
Logic: verify_membership(root, nullifier, proof)

3.2 ReputationThresholdCircuit

Purpose: Proves rep ≥ X without exact score
Util: Chapter passports, access to protected channels
Logic: verify_range(public_threshold, private_rep, proof)

3.3 TrustDistanceCircuit

Purpose: Proves path length ≤ d in QVL graph
Util: Slashing rights, trust-level transactions
Logic: verify_distance(target_node, max_dist, private_path, proof)

3.4 BalanceRangeCircuit

Purpose: Proves balance in [min, max]
Util: Creditworthiness without wealth leak

3.5 VelocityContributionCircuit

Purpose: Proves ≥ X transactions in epoch
Util: Hamiltonian velocity measurement (RFC-0648)

3.6 DelegationChainCircuit

Purpose: Proves valid delegation chain
Util: Anonymous voting (RFC-0310)

4. KENYA COMPLIANCE: RECURSIVE COMPRESSION

Problem: STARK proofs 45-200 KB Solution: Proof-of-Proof (PoP)

struct LibertariaProof {
    stark_proof: StarkProof,
    compressed: Option<CompressedProof>,  // ~2-5 KB
    vk_commitment: [u8; 32],
}

impl LibertariaProof {
    fn compress_for_mobile(&self) -> CompressedProof {
        // Recursive STARK: Proof over proof
        let circuit = RecursiveVerificationCircuit::new(&self.stark_proof
        );
        generate_stark(circuit)  // 2-5 KB result
    }
    
    fn verify_lazy(&self, vk: &VerificationKey
    ) -> LazyVerification {
        // For resource-constrained: commit now, verify later
        LazyVerification {
            commitment: self.vk_commitment,
            deferred_until: Instant::now() + GRACE_PERIOD,
        }
    }
}

5. DID/VC INTEGRATION

W3C Verifiable Credentials format:

{
  "@context": ["https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1"],
  "type": ["VerifiableCredential", "LibertariaMembership"],
  "issuer": "did:lib:chapter123",
  "credentialSubject": {
    "id": "did:lib:user456",
    "isMember": true
  },
  "proof": {
    "type": "StarkProof2026",
    "proofValue": "compressed_stark_bytes",
    "verificationMethod": "did:lib:verifier789"
  }
}

6. ZK-STARK MAP

Use Case	Layer	Circuit	Purpose
SoulKey Existence	L1	MembershipCircuit	Anonymous identity
Larval Bootstrap	L1	MembershipCircuit	Sybil resistance
Trust Distance	L1 QVL	TrustDistanceCircuit	Submarine doctrine
Reputation Threshold	L1 QVL	ReputationThresholdCircuit	Access control
Balance Range	L2 Econ	BalanceRangeCircuit	Credit privacy
Velocity Contribution	L2 Econ	VelocityContributionCircuit	Hamiltonian proof
Voting Eligibility	L2 Gov	MembershipCircuit	Anonymous voting
Delegation Chain	L2 Gov	DelegationChainCircuit	Liquid democracy
Chapter Membership	L3 Fed	MembershipCircuit	Cross-chapter

7. CLOSING PRINCIPLES

Proofs without power; privacy without permission. > STARKs: Mathe als Schild, nicht als Schwert. > Kein Setup, kein Leak—nur Souveränität.

END RFC-0130 v0.1.0

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