---
title: "Underestimating the recursion threshold"
description: "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…"
type: "failure-mode"
url: "https://zkpick.com/proof-systems/failure-modes/underestimating-the-recursion-threshold/"
section: "01 Choosing a proof system"
authors:
  - "MarketComp"
publisher: "MarketComp"
version: "1.3"
updated: "2026-09-12"
license: "CC-BY-4.0"
json: "https://zkpick.com/data/proof-systems/failure-modes/underestimating-the-recursion-threshold.json"
---

*By MarketComp. Updated 2026-09-12. Version 1.3. CC BY 4.0.*

# 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.

**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.