Proposal: Tachyeon - a consensus protocol for ZK systems

Input | Output (IO) Partner Chains propose the development of Tachyeon, a Substrate-compatible implementation of the Jolteon consensus protocol – designed to meet the formal verification, performance, and composability demands of zero-knowledge (ZK) systems and next-generation blockchain applications.

Proposal summary

Builds on $1.5M in prior work to advance Jolteon from TRL5 prototype to Substrate TRL7 demonstration in advance of full operational release.
Budget request: $461k USDC – nine-person core team with five engineers, a formal methods specialist, technical architect, DevRel, and PM, including 20% overheads.
Backed by peer-reviewed, mechanized safety and liveness proofs, Tachyeon delivers finality in two rounds under regular network conditions.

Problem

Polkadot’s current finality protocol, GRANDPA, works well in practice but lacks formal, machine-verified guarantees.
Applications requiring high security – such as ZK rollups – benefit from improved correctness and clear links between design and code.
No existing Substrate or external BFT protocol fully meets these standards for formal proof, speed, and integration.

Solution

Tachyeon builds on HotStuff with a two-chain commit rule, offering faster finality and strong safety guarantees while tolerating up to one-third malicious actors.
The protocol uses Quorum and Timeout Certificates to maintain linear communication complexity under regular network conditions.
The protocol delivers a Substrate-native implementation in Rust, with runtime integration, RPC interfaces, and ZK circuit feasibility.

Implementation

Tachyeon builds on the prior TRL5 Jolteon prototype and formal specification with a mechanized safety proof already developed by IO.
Project delivered over six months, in three milestones:
- M1: Review and plan – validate the current prototype and finalize the technical roadmap (1 month)
- M2: Build and test – develop, integrate with Substrate, and conduct network tests (3 months)
- M3: Harden and document – optimize performance, benchmark, and publish full documentation (2 months)
Managed risk registry mitigates through early testing, agile planning, and community transparency.
A future proposal will cover third-party security audits (not included here) and TRL9 full release.

Why this matters now

As demand grows for secure, scalable, and interoperable blockchain infrastructure, Polkadot needs finality protocols that meet the highest standards of assurance.
Tachyeon fills this gap by delivering a formally verified, performance-optimized solution built for ZK systems and next-generation Web3 applications.
Strengthens Polkadot’s foundation for cross-chain interoperability and next-gen Web3 use cases.

Documentation

Fully mechanized Agda specification, safety proofs and Jolteon crate prototype.
Jolteon gap report summary: architecture refactoring for modularity, transport abstraction for Substrate integration, protocol awareness within Substrate, message size optimization, resolution of QC/TC inconsistencies, and implementation of the f+1 rule.
Jolteon demo presentation showing the protocol in action.

How can we help you?

We’re looking to connect with ZK stakeholders across the Polkadot ecosystem. Drop a comment below and we’ll follow up to learn more about your needs.

Comment below with any questions, feedback, or suggestions? Our aim is to listen, iterate, and refine—ensuring Tachyeon delivers real value to the community.