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Nova

Nova is a folding scheme that incrementally proves a sequence of computational steps.

FBFenwei BianAuthorSeptember 19, 2026
  • glossary

Nova is a folding scheme for incrementally verifiable computation: each new step is combined with an accumulated proof state, so verification work does not grow with the number of steps. A separate compression proof can make the final result easier to check externally. Unlike a standalone Groth16 proof, Nova's final size and setup assumptions depend on the selected commitment and compression layers.

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  • Nova
  • folding scheme
  • incrementally verifiable computation
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About the author(s)

Fenwei Bian

Software Developer & Writer • Namefi
Author

Fenwei Bian is a software developer in her thirties who spends her working hours in pull requests and her weekends with her hands in soil or sawdust. Years of open source on GitHub taught her that names are interfaces: a good one is clear, honest about what it does, and kind to whoever has to use it next.

She gardens because it rewards patience and punishes wishful thinking, and she does woodwork because a joint either fits or it doesn't. Both habits show up in how she writes about naming — measure twice, check the source, and don't sand over a rough spot and hope no one notices.

For Namefi she writes about how domain markets actually move, the practical trade-offs of tokenizing and flipping names, and picking a domain you'll still be glad you own in twenty years.

GitHub

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