arXiv Machine Learning

Strong Drafts Need Compact Memories: Long-Context Speculative Decoding with Compressed KV Cache

arXiv Computation and Language
Oct 23

RIFT: KV Cache Compression for Draft Models with Complementary Compressibility Training

RIFT introduces selection‑based KV cache compression strategies that balance prefill information with recently generated tokens to mitigate decode staleness in speculative decoding. By refreshing the KV cache selection during token generation and employing an adaptive refresh strategy, RIFT improves drafter quality while managing decode latency. A compressibility‑driven drafter training phase further enhances performance, enabling Qwen3.5‑4B to retain over 98% of its full‑cache acceptance length within an 8K‑token KV cache budget on long‑context inputs.

By Dor Tsur, Maor Ashkenazi, Maximilian Golub, Peter Hicks, Yaniv Galron, Talor Abramovich, Yoav Miron, Tiyasa Mitra, Bita Darvish Rouhani, Ran Zilberstein