lean Ethereum Part 6: Formal Verification with Alex Hicks

https://youtu.be/9u4fu7TiZCA In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt speaks with Alex Hicks from the Ethereum Foundation about formal verification and its role in the lean Ethereum vision. This is the 6th and final episode of the lean Ethereum mini-series. Nico and Alex explore what it means to produce machine-checked proofs across the ZK stack, from RISC-V and zkVMs to circuits, compilers, and cryptographic primitives, and how these pieces connect in practice. The conversation also covers Alex’s path from physics and math into the ZK space, how the EF effort took shape, and the community push to formally verify the entire stack using proof assistants like Lean. They discuss efforts to formalize zkVM components, the tradeoffs between proof assistants and automated solvers, and what real progress looks like after a year and a half of focused work. Related Links

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