Why does Kaspa's KIP-0016 use Groth16 proofs for on-chain verification?

Kaspa's KIP-0016 uses Groth16 proofs for on-chain verification because they are exceptionally compact — each proof consists of only three group elements, and verifying one requires only a small fixed number of mathematical operations called bilinear pairings. Groth16, introduced by Jen Groth in 2016, is one of the most widely deployed succinct non-interactive argument systems in the zero-knowledge ecosystem, implemented in Kaspa's case via the Arkworks library on the BN254 curve. On-chain, both proof size and verification cost directly affect transaction economics, so a smaller proof format translates to lower costs for users. For a beginner, the practical takeaway is that Kaspa chose Groth16 because its compactness keeps on-chain verification cheap and efficient.