Scaling

Healthy competition welcome — Polygon zkEVM lead

July 18, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Prominent Ethereum development firms have rolled out varying zero-knowledge scaling solutions that drive healthy competition in the ecosystem.

An environment of healthy competition is being fostered between the Ethereum ecosystem’s top development firms building zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (zkEVMs) to scale the network, according to one of Polygon’s co-founders.

Jordi Baylina, technical lead of Polygon Hermez zkEVM, spoke to Cointelegraph ahead of the start of EthCC in France. With builders from across the Ethereum ecosystem converging on Paris, zero-knowledge proof (ZK-proof) scaling tools are set to be a major focal point.

Polygon’s zkEVM uses ZK-proofs to reduce transaction costs and increase the throughput of the Ethereum network, while taking advantage of the security and finality of the layer-1 blockchain.

ZK-proofs have proved to be an important scaling tool for the Ethereum ecosystem. The technology allows protocols like Polygon’s zkEVM to handle transaction computations off-chain before providing a resource-lite proof to the Ethereum mainnet without revealing any of the associated data.

Baylina, who is at the helm of Polygon’s zkEVM, says the breadth of development being done with ZK technology has been hugely beneficial to the wider Ethereum ecosystem:

“Having different projects adds a lot of experience, and it’s also a way to test different approaches, ways of handling things or solving things.”

Baylina added that various projects emulate good advances and try to make them better, while failings act as a learning for all ZK-based projects in the space.

*Polygon zkEVM unique addresses. Source: Polygon zkEVM*

Polygon zkEVM is live on mainnet, and the network is closing in on 250,000 unique active addresses. Its daily active Polygon zkEVM addresses are also trending upward, with both metrics suggesting that user adoption is growing.

Meanwhile, Baylina highlighted the number of applications that are building on Polygon zkEVM as the most important metric for his team. This, in turn, leads to a wealth of information and feedback from developers, which is shaping changes to the protocol:

“Hearing from developers the issues that they have, if they notice something that can be improved or the quality of the tooling that they have on top of that for me, these are the real metrics we are working hard on.”

Baylina provided a working example where developers had identified issues with timestamps that were critical for the operation of decentralized finance oracles. Bayina’s team found a workaround solution while a long-term fix was being developed. Nevertheless, the input from builders is helping improve the protocol as more join the ecosystem.

“Important projects are coming to the network, and we are getting a lot of experience and knowledge on the needs of different applications.”

Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal previously told Cointelegraph that Polygon’s zkEVM is the “holy grail of Ethereum scaling,” allowing the protocol to submit proofs to the Ethereum mainnet without the layer-1 blockchain having to rerun computations.

The technology is envisioned to drastically scale Ethereum, allowing developers to build decentralized applications while being unencumbered by the base blockchain’s network performance.

Magazine: Here’s how Ethereum’s ZK-rollups can become interoperable

Ethereum scaling protocols drive zero-knowledge proof use in 2023

July 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Ethereum scaling remains the primary use case behind zero-knowledge proofs, according to a report from ZKValidator.

Ethereum scaling protocols dominate the use of zero-knowledge rollups (ZK-rollups), with major launches, new research and healthy competition key points in a sector report published by ZKValidator.

The node infrastructure operator’s “State of ZK Q2” report reflects on significant events across the ZK ecosystem, with notable launches of ZK-powered layer 2’s highlighting the use of the technology for scaling in comparison with other market segments.

ZK-proofs use cryptography to allow one party to prove to another party that certain information is correct without revealing any data. They present a solution to trust and privacy in digital environments, and have been pivotal in scaling layer-1 blockchain protocols.

A poll put to the 18,000 followers of the Zero Knowledge Podcast provided a sample for a community gauge on the most important applications of ZK-proofs. Of the respondents, 42% selected “ZK for Scaling” as the segment that would experience the highest growth in the coming 12 months.

*ZK use cases. Source: State of ZK Report Q2 2023.*

ZK for privacy and identity followed at 23.8% and 22.2%, respectively, while zero-knowledge machine learning was the least selected segment.

The poll reflects the real-world applications of ZK-proofs, with several major Ethereum scaling protocols hitting mainnet in the first half of 2023.

This includes Polygon’s announcement of its forthcoming “2.0” multichain system, which will use ZK-proofs to transfer assets between networks and zkSync Era’s ZK Stack , which will allow developers to build ZK-rollups and proprietary layer-3 “hyperchains.“

ConsenSys also began onboarding partners to its mainnet Linea network on July 11. Linea is another prominent layer 2 that allows developers to build or migrate decentralized applications for Ethereum.

The sector has also attracted investment across several segments, including new zk-based layer 2’s and zkEthereum Virtual Machines (zkEVMs), as well as ZK-proofs for off-chain computation.

Ethereum scaling firm StarkWare , which helped pioneer zk technology, and the Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, invested in Kakarot — a zkEVM running on StarkWare’s technology that aims to build layer-3 applications.

The report also highlights a $115 million raise by Worldcoin to continue the development of its zk-powered digital identity application and ecosystem. Swiss nonprofit Anoma Foundation also features in the report after its latest $25 million raise to continue building its third-generation blockchain architecture for decentralized applications.

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Magazine: Here’s how Ethereum’s ZK-rollups can become interoperable

ConsenSys launches Linea zkEVM to further scale Ethereum

July 11, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

ConsenSys rolls scaling network Linea, which delivered faster throughput and 15 times lower transaction costs than Ethereum’s layer 1.

The Ethereum ecosystem welcomes another layer-2 scaling solution as ConsenSys begins onboarding partners to its Linea network, which has produced significant scaling milestones in testing.

Linea is an Ethereum layer-2 scaling network that allows developers to build or migrate decentralized applications for Ethereum. It operates using zero-knowledge proofs and is Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) equivalent, meaning its applications can seamlessly interact with the Ethereum blockchain.

The network went through a lengthy testnet period which saw some 5.5 million unique wallets carry out over 46 million transactions. ConsenSys outlined improvements to Linea’s performance, transaction costs and user experience through its testing period.

The gradual alpha release began on July 11 with more than 100 partners and ConsenSys touts faster throughput and 15 times lower transaction fees than those executed on Ethereum’s mainnet.

Linea also integrates with ConsenSys’ Ethereum browser wallet MetaMask, giving Linea users access to its token bridge, swap and buy functionality.

ConsenSys founder and CEO Joseph Lubin highlighted the number of layer 2 Ethereum scaling protocols and solutions as a key component driving the development of Web3 applications and functionality:

“With the Merge to Proof of Stake and the broad traction of the rollup-centric roadmap, Ethereum L2s are set to play a crucial role in making great advances in scalability and usability.”

The announcement shared with Cointelegraph highlights decentralized finance (DeFi) applications migrating to Linea to tap into fast finality, capital efficient bridge and inherited security from Ethereum’s mainnet.

Meanwhile the network also offers lower gas fees, high throughput and low latency, which are key components needed to power nonfungible tokens, blockchain gaming and social applications.

ConsenSys also launched its Linea Ecosystem Investment Alliance (EIA), which will see more than 30 venture capital firms lend capital and advisory assistance to ecosystem builders.

The launch of Linea’s alpha mainnet will make use of safeguards to protect users, DApps and the network itself. This includes only allowing launch partners the execute calls to the network over the first week.

ConsenSys intends to open up the network during ETHCC in France from July 17, while some limits on withdrawals may be instituted over the first 90 days. The firm will carry out a bug bounty and monitor system performance before fully opening LIna to end users.

Ethereum layer 2's have been a major talking point in 2023. Layer 2 development firm Polygon also tooks its zkEVM network public in March 2023. Meanwhile Starknet, whose founder Eli Ben-Sasson pioneered zk-proofs, has focused on increasing throughput of its network this year.

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Magazine: ZK-rollups are ‘the endgame’ for scaling blockchains: Polygon Miden founder

Account abstraction will drive a billion users from Asia to Web3: ConsenSys exec

July 5, 2023 Coin Telegraph

account abstraction

In addition to “smart accounts” Ethereum adoption will be boosted by Web3 gaming along with zkEVM scaling and security, says Laura Shi.

Account abstraction, also known as “smart accounts” could eventually onboard a billion users from the Asia region to Web3, according to an executive at Ethereum software solutions provider ConsenSys.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, the director of strategic initiatives at ConsenSys, Laura Shi, noted that the Ethereum and Web3 ecosystem has seen a strong expansion in Asia this year.

“More dApps are improving UX for the Asian market, including introducing Asian language support,” she said.

Shi added this expansion is primarily being driven by the introduction of zero knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) rollups and the mass adoption of Optimistic rollups.

The two rollups are layer-2 scaling solutions with zkEVM offering developers security, scaling and direct compatibility with Ethereum smart contracts.

Shi believes the development of account abstraction, which offers greater programmable functionality and more “bank-like” features than a regular crypto wallet, would increase adoption in the region.

“The development of account abstraction will facilitate the onboarding of billion-level users in APAC to Web3”

Account abstraction was proposed by Vitalik Buterin and other developers in EIP-4337 to “completely avoid consensus-layer protocol changes, instead relying on higher-layer infrastructure,” in September 2021. However, the concept goes much further back in Ethereum’s timeline.

According to the 2022 Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index, the top two crypto-adopting countries in the world were in Asia — Vietnam and the Philippines. Thailand, China and India were in the top 10 despite anti-crypto sentiments from their respective governments.

Shi believes mass adoption in Asia is also being driven by social gaming and Web3 gaming, citing South Korea and China as examples.

“South Korea's gaming publishers are continuously focusing on Web3 RPG game publishing, attempting to optimize the sustainability of the on-chain economic model,” said Shi.

“Meanwhile, the Chinese-speaking developer ecosystem is focusing on onboarding Web2 users to Web3 gaming through adopting account abstraction solutions.”

Both use cases will rely heavily on zkEVM roll ups and account abstraction development, she added.

“From the use-case perspective, we see Web3 social and gaming content has the largest potential in the coming years. It is powered by [a] zkEVM rollup solution and [an] account abstraction solution that enables gas fee subsidy and social recovery.”

Asked whether the current U.S. industry crackdown could be driving Ethereum and Web3 ecosystem growth in Asia, Shi said she didn’t see any correlation.

“So far we have not observed any direct correlation between these and the regulatory dynamics in the United States.”

The pivot to Asia has been a hot topic recently as U.S. crypto and Web3 companies seek friendlier jurisdictions in the Far East.

However, the Ethereum ecosystem in Asia appears to be doing fine on its own without the catalyst of Uncle Sam’s war on crypto.

Magazine: Crypto City: Guide to Osaka, Japan’s second-biggest city

Binance’s BNB Chain introduces layer-2 testnet powered by Optimism

June 20, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Binance

The Binance-founded blockchain has introduced a new layer-2 chain opBNB, though some suggest there are other ways to scale the network.

Binance-founded layer-1 blockchain BNB Chain has introduced a new layer-2 chain that it hopes will address its “scalability challenge.”

On June 19, BNB Chain unveiled opBNB, which has launched as a testnet. The new layer-2 scaling solution is based on the Optimism OP Stack, which it says will add additional security and scalability to the Binance blockchain network.

The system is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible layer-2 chain, which means it works with Ethereum-based smart contracts, networks and ERC-20 token standards.

Blockchains are often plagued by network congestion and high fees during times of increased network demand. BNB Chain currently claims around 2,000 transactions per second with transaction costs of around $0.10.

According to the announcement, opBNB can support over 4,000 transfer transactions per second at an average transaction cost lower than $0.005.

As blockchain technology continues to evolve, scalability remains a critical challenge.

But fear not! Enter opBNB, a game-changing Layer 2 scaling solution designed to overcome the limitations of Layer 1 (L1) networks.

Let's discuss opBNB below https://t.co/irYn1OPtfQ
— BNB Chain (@BNBCHAIN) June 19, 2023

Furthermore, opBNB also allows for the optimization of data accessibility, the caching layer, and adjusting the submission process algorithm to allow simultaneous operations, it noted. This allows it to increase the gas limit to 100 million per block from the 30 million that Optimism allows.

In a statement, Binance called opBNB its “answer to the scalability challenge that has limited the mass adoption of blockchain technology.”

Optimism uses Optimistic Rollups to scale transactions by automatically assuming the transaction data, which is processed off the root chain, is valid until proven otherwise.

Additionally, the RPC (remote procedure call) service layer simplifies the integration process by offering a user-friendly interface, it noted.

This allows developers to “focus on building applications without worrying about the complexities of Layer 2 scaling,” it added.

We're already seeing the first wave of development on opBNB - who's next? https://t.co/NnYmmMTP5Q
— BNB Chain (@BNBCHAIN) June 19, 2023

Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran was among some of those skeptical of the development, commenting that BNB Chain had scaling issues “because they centralized an Ethereum fork and turned up the gas limit to an unsafe level.”

He added that launching an Optimism fork “made no sense” since there were other options, such as joining Optimism as a “superchain,” or becoming a layer-2 directly on Ethereum, or even a layer-3 on Optimism or Arbitrum.

According to DefiLlama, BNB Chain is the third largest blockchain, behind Ethereum and Tron, in terms of DeFi total value locked. It has a TVL of $3.38 billion, a 24-hour volume of $264 million, and around a million active daily users.

Magazine: Here’s how Ethereum’s ZK-rollups can become interoperable

Bitcoin and select altcoins show resilience even as the crypto market sell-off continues

June 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Regulatory enforcement against the crypto sector has spooked investors, but the total crypto market capitalization continues to hold above $1 trillion.

A bearish trend formation has been pressuring cryptocurrency prices for the past eight weeks, driving the total market capitalization to its lowest level in more than two months at $1.06 trillion, a 2.4% decline between June 4 and June 11.

This time, the move wasn’t driven by Bitcoin (BTC), as the leading cryptocurrency gained 0.8% during the seven-day period. The negative pressure came from a handful of altcoins that plunged over 15%, including BNB (BNB), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC) and Polkadot (DOT).

*Total crypto market cap in USD, 1-day. Source: TradingView*

Notice that the downtrend initiated in mid-April has tested the support level in multiple instances, indicating that an eventual break to the upside would require extra effort from the bulls.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission tagged multiple altcoins as securities in separate lawsuits filed last week against crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase.

Despite the worsening crypto regulatory environment, two derivatives metrics indicate that bulls are not yet throwing in the towel but will likely have a hard time breaking the bearish price formation to the upside.

Crypto exchanges are under severe constraints in the U.S.

Binance.US announced on June 9 the upcoming suspension of U.S. dollar deposits and withdrawal channels, besides delisting USD trading pairs. The exchange added that it plans to transition to a crypto-only exchange but maintains a 1:1 ratio for customer assets. The SEC issued an emergency order on June 6 to freeze the assets of Binance.US.

Also on June 9, the Crypto.com exchange announced it would no longer service institutional clients in the United States. Although the Singapore-based company alleged a lack of client demand, the curious timing matching the recent actions against Coinbase and Binance has raised suspicions, as pictured by UtilizeWeb3 founder CryptoTea.

The SEC will likely sue Crypto .com

they sued Coinbase and Binance for selling securities

specifically naming Solana, Cardano, Sandbox, Matic, CHZ, BNB, Mana, Algo and more

crypto .com also sells ALL of these cryptos

plus they launched their own CRO coin
plus they offer… pic.twitter.com/2nuqd5ljVY
— Crypto Tea (@CryptoTea_) June 8, 2023

Despite being spared from the attacks coming from the SEC, the vice-leader Ether (ETH) traded down 3.5% between June 4 and June 11 after co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated that the Ethereum network would “fail” if scaling doesn’t go through. In a June 9 post via his personal blog, Buterin explained that the success of Ethereum depends on layer-2 scaling, wallet security and privacy-preserving features.

Derivatives markets show balanced leverage demand

Perpetual contracts, also known as inverse swaps, have an embedded rate that is usually charged every eight hours.

A positive funding rate indicates that longs (buyers) demand more leverage. Still, the opposite situation occurs when shorts (sellers) require additional leverage, causing the funding rate to turn negative.

*Perpetual futures accumulated 7-day funding rate on June 11. Source: Coinglass*

The seven-day funding rate for BTC and ETH was neutral, indicating balanced demand from leveraged longs (buyers) and shorts (sellers) using perpetual futures contracts. Curiously, BNB, SOL and ADA displayed no excessive short demand after a 15% or higher weekly price decline.

Tether demand in Asia shows modest resilience

The Tether (USDT) premium is a good gauge of China-based crypto retail trader demand. It measures the difference between China-based peer-to-peer trades and the United States dollar.

Excessive buying demand tends to pressure the indicator above fair value at 100%, and during bearish markets, Tether’s market offer is flooded, causing a 2% or higher discount.

*Tether (USDT) peer-to-peer vs. USD/CNY. Source: OKX*

Currently, the Tether premium on OKX stands at 99.8%, indicating a balanced demand from retail investors. Consequently, the indicator shows resilience considering the cryptocurrency markets dropped 17.7% over the last eight weeks to $1.06 trillion from $1.29 trillion.

Given the balanced demand according to the funding rate and stablecoin markets, bulls should be more than satisfied, given that the recent regulatory FUD was unable to break the cryptocurrency market capitalization below $1 trillion.

It is unclear whether the market will be able to break from the bearish trend. Moreover, there is no apparent rationale for bulls to jump the gun and place bets on a V-shaped recovery, given the uncertainty in the regulatory environment. Ultimately, bears are in a comfortable place despite the resilience in derivatives and stablecoin metrics.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Germany’s Deutsche Telekom plugs in as Polygon validator

June 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The German telecommunications firm looks to leverage its infrastructure in Web3, plugging in as a network validator for Ethereum scaling protocol Polygon.

One of Europe’s largest telecommunications companies is using its infrastructure to explore new revenue streams and boost network security as a validator for blockchain protocols.

Germany’s Deutsche Telekom is set to become a validator for Ethereum layer-2 scaling platform Polygon, becoming one of 100 validators providing staking and validation services for the network and Polygon’s Supernets solution.

Polygon is an important layer 2 in the Ethereum ecosystem, offering developers a range of scaling solutions, including zero-knowledge rollups, sidechains and data availability protocols.

Deutsche Telekom MMS, which provides consulting and software development services, will operate as a Polygon validator for its parent company. This is expected to secure Polygon’s proof-of-stake sidechain and Supernets chain, improving security, governance and decentralization of the protocols.

The firm will run a full node, produce blocks, validate and participate in the network’s consensus, and commit checkpoints to the Ethereum mainnet.

Dirk Röde, Deutsche Telekom’s Blockchain Solutions Center head, told Cointelegraph supporting the Polygon network as a validator is a big milestone in its aim to be an important player in Web3 infrastructure:

“Deutsche Telekom is not only a renowned infrastructure provider for mobile and internet services but is also making significant commitments to expand its presence and reliability as an infrastructure provider in the Web3 domain.”

Deutsche Telekom is also a validator for Q, Flow, Celo, Chainlink and Ethereum, and Röde said the company aims to serve institutional clients as a reliable enterprise-grade staking provider.

Röde added that leveraging the company’s infrastructure as a validator while monetizing the native token of the underlying blockchain network provides Deutsche Telekom with a “dependable, novel and scalable source of income.“

The potential for more mainstream telecommunications companies moving into Web3 could also catalyze greater decentralization of various proof-of-stake blockchains operated by validators:

“Other telecommunications companies are also exploring opportunities in this domain. In a decentralized ecosystem, it should be the goal to have a diverse and reliable validator set.“

A statement from Polygon Labs CEO Michael Blank reiterated this point, highlighting his belief that the partnership could pave the way for more mainstream businesses to embrace blockchain technology.

Polygon recently announced a multiyear partnership with Google Cloud to drive the development of the Ethereum scaling protocol’s zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine, zero-knowledge proof scaling solution.

Magazine: Here’s how Ethereum’s ZK-rollups can become interoperable

Google Cloud to optimize Polygon zkEVM scaling performance

April 28, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Polygon Labs and Google Cloud will team up in a multi-year agreement to drive the development and adoption of the Ethereum scaling protocol’s infrastructure and developer tools.

Polygon Labs and Google Cloud announced a multi-year partnership at Consensus 2023 that will see the cloud computing service provider help boost the development of the Ethereum (ETH) scaling protocol’s tools and infrastructure.

Polygon’s core protocols, including Polygon PoS (proof-of-stake), Polygon zkEVM and Polygon Supernets, are set to benefit from the provision of Google Cloud’s framework and developer tools. The partnership is aimed at simplifying developer integration to build, launch and grow Web3 products and decentralized applications (DApp) on Polygon.

Google Cloud’s partnership with the ecosystem is expected to advance Polygon’s zero-knowledge development. Testing of Polygon zkEVM’s zero-knowledge proofs (zk-proofs) on Google Cloud reportedly resulted in faster and cheaper transactions compared to the existing infrastructure available.

The Polygon zkEVM beta, an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) scaling solution, was launched to mainnet in March 2023, powering reduced transaction costs and increased throughput of smart contract deployments.

Google Cloud’s Blockchain Node Engine will be used by the Polygon ecosystem to assist with time-intensive processes and costly overheads of acquiring, maintaining and operating dedicated blockchain nodes. This specific integration intends to remove the need for Polygon developers to configure and run Polygon PoS nodes.

Polygon Labs president Ryan Wyatt highlighted the wide variety of benefits to the protocol’s ecosystem through the partnership in a statement coinciding with the roll out of the collaboration:

“Today's announcement with Google Cloud aims to increase transaction throughput enabling use cases in gaming, supply chain management, and DeFi.”

Google Cloud’s APAC managing director of engineering and Web3 go-to-market Mitesh Agarwal said its services are improving data availability, resilience and performance of scaling protocols like zk-proofs.

The partnership will also provide capital resources to Polygon ecosystem developers and companies building Web3 products and DApps. Certain early-stage Polygon Ventures-backed startups will also be able to receive newly-launched Web3-specific benefits from the Google for Startups Cloud Program.

Google Cloud’s startup accelerator program now supports 11 major blockchain firms. Meanwhile, blockchain analytics firm Nansen also announced that its data services would be available to projects in Google Cloud’s Web3 startup program.

Magazine: Here’s how Ethereum’s ZK-rollups can become interoperable

DeFi driving zkSync growth as 1inch deploys on Ethereum layer-2 scaling platform

April 20, 2023 Coin Telegraph

1inch Network

1inch Network is the latest decentralized Finance protocol to deploy on Ethereum layer-2 scaling platform zkSync Era.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol 1inch has deployed its aggregation and limit order protocols on Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution zkSync Era to tap into faster and cheaper transactions.

1inch Network is the latest of a host of Ethereum-based platforms and services to deploy on the zero-knowledge proof (zk-proof) based scaling platform. Uniswap, SushiSwap, Maker and Curve Finance have also launched on the zk-proof roll-up zkSync Era.

1inch Network co-founder Sergej Kunz highlighted the promise of the layer-2 solution as his platform joins a handful of first-movers to integrate with the zk-proof powered protocol:

“As zkSync Era gains steam, 1inch users will benefit from faster and cheaper transactions.”

A statement from Matter Labs CEO Alex Gluchowski, who heads up the zkSync development firm, notes that DeFi protocols have been a major factor in the uptake of zkSync era:

“DeFi has been a driving force behind zkSync Era’s explosive growth that has seen over $200 million in TVL driven to the protocol in just three short weeks, and we expect the deployment of 1inch to contribute to even greater adoption and usage of zkSync Era.”

Gluchowski said that 1inch Network’s position as the largest decentralized exchange aggregator by on-chain volume would provide deeper liquidity to zkSync Era. The deployment is also touted to offer faster trades, better rates and lower transaction slippage.

zkSync is among a number of layer-2 solutions that have pioneered the use of zk-rollups to increase Ethereum’s throughput and scalability. The technology enables layer-2 protocols to move computation and blockchain state storage offchain, allowing these platforms to process thousands of transactions before providing summary data proofs to Ethereum’s mainnet.

Matter Labs secured $200 million during a series-c investment round in November 2022, taking its total fundraising to over $450 million to continue the development of its Ethereum scaling platform.

Other major Ethereum development firms, including Polygon and ConsenSys, have also developed their own zk-proof powered scaling protocols. ConsenSys released its zkEVM rollup to its public testnet on March 28.

Meanwhile, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal described zk-rollups as “the holy grail of Ethereum scaling” upon the release of its open-source zkEVM Ethereum scaling technology to the mainnet on March 27.

Magazine: ZK-rollups are ‘the endgame’ for scaling blockchains: Polygon Miden founder

Buterin weighs in on zk-EVMs impact on decentralization and security

April 3, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Client

Vitalik Buterin has weighed the impacts of the addition of zk-EVMs at the protocol level, saying it could speed up the verification process on the base layer.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin wants to see zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (zk-EVMs) built on Ethereum’s first layer to speed up the verification process on the base blockchain.

Buterin explained in a March 31 post that it’s possible to integrate a zk-EVM on the base layer without compromising on decentralization and security. The technology enables Ethereum Virtual Machines to execute smart contracts on the blockchain with ZK proofs.

How will Ethereum's multi-client philosophy interact with ZK-EVMs?https://t.co/MPpTPNhldR
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) March 31, 2023

Ethereum was developed with a “multi-client philosophy” to ensure decentralization at the protocol level, Buterin explained. By integrating zk-EVMs at the Ethereum layer 1, it would be the third type of client.

“Once that happens, zk-EVMs de-facto become a third type of Ethereum client, just as important to the network's security as execution clients and consensus clients are today.”

The other two clients are the “consensus” and “execution” clients. The consensus client implements proof-of-stake to ensure nodes in the network reach agreement. While the execution listens to new transactions broadcasted in the network, executes them in standard EVM and holds a copy of the latest state of the blockchain.

In championing the idea of zk-EVM verification at the Ethereum base layer, Buterin firstly considered the advantages and drawbacks of treating the layer 1 as a “clearinghouse” by pushing almost all activity to layer 2’s.

He said many layer 1-based apps would become “economically nonviable” and that small funds — worth a few hundred dollars or less — may get “stuck” in the event that gas fees grow too large.

Buterin explained that zk-EVMs would need to be “open” in that different clients each have different zk-EVM implementations and each client waits for a proof that is compatible with its own implementation before accepting a block as valid.

He prefers this approach because it wouldn’t abandon the “multi-client” paradigm, and an open zk-EVM infrastructure would also ensure that new clients could be developed, which would further decentralize Ethereum at the base layer.

Buterin said zkEVMs may be the solution to “The Verge,” a part of the Ethereum roadmap which aims to make verification at the base layer easier.

Updated roadmap diagram! pic.twitter.com/MT9BKgYcJH
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) November 4, 2022

Buterin acknowledged that the zk-EVM infrastructure may cause data inefficiency and latency issues, however he said those challenges wouldn’t be “too hard” to overcome.

If the zk-EVM ecosystem is implemented, it would make running a full node on Ethereum even easier, Buterin explained:

“Ethereum blocks would be smaller than today, anyone could run a fully verifying node on their laptop or even their phone or inside a browser extension, and this would all happen while preserving the benefits of Ethereum's multi-client philosophy.”

Ethereum layer-2 scaling platform Polygon has made considerable progress with its zk-EVM, having recently open-sourced its zkEVM to the Polygon mainnet on March 27, promising reduced transaction costs and increased throughput of smart contract deployments.

StarkWare, ConsenSys, Scroll, zkSync and Immutable are also deploying similar zkEVM scaling solutions.

Magazine: Attack of the zkEVMs! Crypto’s 10x moment

Crypto exchanges are under severe constraints in the U.S.

Derivatives markets show balanced leverage demand

Tether demand in Asia shows modest resilience

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