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Uniswap proposal to launch on Polygon zkEVM is set to pass

All 191 UNI token holders voted in favor of the proposal to launch the DEX on Polygon's zkEVM.

Decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap is seemingly set to launch on the new zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) roll-up solution from scaling solution provider Polygon.

While Uniswap (UNI) token holders have until April 14 at 9:05 pm UTC to vote on the proposal to launch Uniswap v3 on the zkEVM, the 40 million vote threshold needed for the proposal to pass it has already been reached — with over 42.4 million votes recorded in favor of the integration.

All 191 Ethereum addresses voted in favor of the proposal with financial modeling platform Gauntlet and Ethereum infrastructure provider ConsenSys leading the voting tally with over 7 million votes each according to Tally, a voting dashboard for decentralized finance projects:

Top votes in favor of integrating Uniswap v3 on Polygon zkEVM. Source: Tally

The author of the proposal, Polygon Business Development Lead Jack Melnick, explained that now is the “right moment” to make Uniswap v3 available on Polygon’s zkEVM because it is “EVM equivalent” — meaning that there is no need to recompile EVM smart contracts:

“There’s significant value in Uniswap being available on an EVM compatible ZK rollup. Deploying early on zkEVM helps solidify Uniswap’s place as the number one DEX and a thought leader.”

The integration will also provide validation and fast finality of off-chain transactions, said Melnick.

In addition, the high level of adoption that Polygon has managed to harness makes integrating on Polygon’s zkEVM a “priority,” he explained.

As for what factors will make this deployment a boom or bust, Melnick pointed to several key on-chain metrics:

“A successful zkEVM deployment will, in an organic and sustained manner, grow Uniswap’s Total Addressable Market across TVL, unique interacting wallet, volumes, and integration with partner dApps.”

“As demand for zk-blockchains and proximity to Ethereum rises, users and builders will increasingly look to zkEVM solutions to build and trade,” he added.

Melnick is confident the integration will pose “minimal risks” at least “relative” to other blockchains because the Polygon zkEVM uses zero-knowledge proofs to inherit Ethereum’s security.

The Polygon Bridge has been “disintermediated” and data will be sourced from “reputable” Oracle providers, Melnick added, which he expects will only strengthen security at the protocol level.

Polygon’s zkEVM had its official mainnet launch on March 27.

Related: Uniswap’s first governance vote fails... Despite 98% support

In a similar move, Uniswap v3 integrated with the BNB Chain — a smart contract blockchain built by Binance — on March 15.

The governance vote wasn’t as stark though, as only 65% voted in favor of the proposal.

United States venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) — the largest UNI token holder — voted against the BNB proposal with its 15 million UNI tokens.

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

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.

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.

Related: ConsenSys zkEVM set for public testnet to deliver secure settlements on Ethereum

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.

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.

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