01 — Proof system · Failure mode

Underestimating the recursion threshold

Recursion is assumed to be available, then the in-circuit verifier turns out to be large enough that the minimum useful step size exceeds the actual workload — so recursion costs more than it saves.

By MarketComp Updated 2026-09-12 v1.3 About the authors Changelog

Mitigation

Get the concrete size of the in-circuit verifier circuit before designing around recursion, and check whether it requires non-native field arithmetic, which typically dominates.

Cite this page

MarketComp (2026). Underestimating the recursion threshold. The ZK Field Manual (Version 1.3). MarketComp. https://zkpick.com/proof-systems/failure-modes/underestimating-the-recursion-threshold/

@misc{zkfieldmanual-underestimating-the-recursion-threshold,
  title        = {Underestimating the recursion threshold — The ZK Field Manual},
  author       = {MarketComp},
  year         = {2026},
  version      = {1.3},
  howpublished = {\url{https://zkpick.com/proof-systems/failure-modes/underestimating-the-recursion-threshold/}},
  note         = {Accessed: YYYY-MM-DD}
}