Implementing zero-knowledge (ZK) proof verification directly in Sui Move comes with key challenges: high computation costs, limited cryptographic support in Move, and potential bloating of on-chain resources. Sui Move isn’t optimized for heavy arithmetic or elliptic curve operations needed for most ZK schemes (like Groth16 or Plonk), which leads to expensive and slow verifiers if done fully on-chain. Additionally, Move lacks native libraries for advanced cryptographic primitives, forcing reliance on simplified or custom implementations that may be insecure or inefficient.

To reduce verifier cost overhead, you should offload proof generation and partial verification off-chain, and only validate concise results (like SNARK succinct proofs or preprocessed commitments) on-chain. Use minimal on-chain logic to check that a given proof matches expected public inputs via lightweight checks. If needed, use or design a Move-native verifier for only the final step, and keep all heavy computation off-chain. You can also use bridging contracts or oracle-like systems to bring verified ZK results from more ZK-friendly environments (e.g., Ethereum L2s or zkVMs).

For more guidance, explore discussions around Move + ZK integration here.

Here’s a conceptual example of lightweight proof validation in Move:

module ZKVerifier {
    struct Proof has store {
        commitment: vector<u8>,
        response: vector<u8>,
    }

    public fun verify_proof(proof: &Proof, expected_commitment: vector<u8>): bool {
        // Simplified: Just verify that proof matches expected output
        vector::equals(&proof.commitment, &expected_commitment)
    }
}

This approach avoids intensive math in Move, instead keeping verification logic simple and efficient while leveraging off-chain ZK tooling for actual proof generation and complexity.