It is no secret that Ethereum has high costs and slow transaction speeds compared to other blockchains. At the same time, it is also home to a multitude of DApps and blockchain projects. Therefore, as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum must improve its scalability, speed, and affordability to gain mainstream adoption. That is precisely why so much effort is being put into making zero-knowledge (zk) rollups compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the computation engine for Ethereum.
It's the reason why the roll-up space is hotting up, with Optimism, Arbitrum, Matter Labs, and now Polygon, all buzzing with developments. It is a clear indication that Ethereum's expensive user experience is on the verge of a dramatic improvement.
Polygon's zkEVM rollup followed its rival, ZkSync Era, which is developed by Matter Labs and launched just last week. Keeping the competition going, Polygon launched the zkEVM beta on its mainnet, offering developers the opportunity to deploy smart contracts with lower costs and higher throughput. The project is expected to see significant adoption, with 50 web3 projects already indicating the intention to build on the solution. Join us to learn more about Polygon ZkEVM and what it has in store.
Understanding Polygon’s ZkEVM rollup
ZkEVM is based on two core blockchain concepts, namely rollups and zero-knowledge proofs. In layman's terms, rollups are used to make the blockchain network scalable by turning a pile of transactions into a single piece of data. This single piece of data is then processed on-chain, as opposed to the entire pile of transactions. This is accomplished by leveraging layer-2 blockchains, like Polygon, that run on top of layer-1 blockchains, like Ethereum.
The layer 2 network, Polygon in this case, processes several transactions, grouping and compressing them into a format that can be passed to the layer-1 network, Ethereum. Combining this process with zero-knowledge proofs means thousands of transactions are bundled off-chain and are validated with the use of minimal information while keeping the details of the blockchain transactions hidden.
As such, Polygon's ZkEVM rollup is a zk-rollup that replicates the Ethereum transaction execution process in an off-chain setup and then sends it back to the Ethereum mainnet with a compressed summary. This unlocks higher network performance, increased throughput and lower transactions.
zkEVM gets a grand launch
Polygon's highly anticipated zkEVM has already launched its beta mainnet, marking a significant milestone for both Polygon and Ethereum. To celebrate the occasion, the Polygon team enlisted the help of Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin, who signed the very first transaction with a hidden message. Once decoded, the transaction’s hex code read, "a few million constraints for man, unconstrained scalability for mankind."
Buterin also set the Ethereum network transaction gas limit to 69,042, a reference to the meme numbers 69 and 420. In response, Sanket Shah, Head of Growth at Polygon Labs, tweeted a meme reference, suggesting that the gas limit number indicates that Vitalik is a man of culture.
Industry leaders celebrate the launch
Charles Hoskinson, the founder of the proof-of-stake blockchain platform Cardano, praised Polygon for launching such an innovative network, stating that it is exciting to see such advancements in the crypto industry. “Congratulations to the Polygon community. It's really cool to see innovation like this in the industry,” said Charles Hoskinson, replying to zkEVM’s announcement tweet.
Along with the Polygon community, Star Xu, the founder of OkCoin and OKX, also expressed enthusiasm for the launch. Xu added that the ZkEVM is a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency industry. Interestingly, it has been reported that OKX is also developing its layer-2 EVM solution, dubbed "OKBChain," and that its test network will be launched soon.
Polygon’s MATIC token has also seen an uptick
The launch of Polygon’s zkEVM has also affected the network’s native cryptocurrency, MATIC. The token jumped nearly nine percent in the last 24 hours, going from $1.03 yesterday, before the launch, to $1.14 at the time of writing. Before this spike, MATIC faced resistance at the $1.10 level over the last couple of weeks. Considering that the token has broken through this resistance level, chances are that it could march to the $1.20 level, according to an article by CoinPedia.
The road ahead
The road ahead for Polygon's zkEVM looks promising. The network has already attracted over 50 projects from various sectors including web3, crypto, and gaming. Notable DApps such as Aavegotchi and Lens have joined the network, along with DeFi projects such as Oxvix, Quickswap, Phantom, and Midnight Society. Additionally, Etherscan, Gameswift, Yeeha Games, Luganodes, and others have also joined.
A week before the main net launch, another prominent Ethereum scaling solution, Immutable, partnered with Polygon to create a web3 gaming network that would be powered by the latter’s zkEVM technology. The partnership was announced on March 20, at the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC).
Looking forward, other blockchain projects such as Scroll and Starnet are also preparing for their EVM-compatible Zk rollups. As such, we can expect several more Zk-based layer 2 solutions and developments in the crypto space in the coming months.
Beta is live, but security is still being scrutinised
While the network is currently in its beta phase, the team has advised users to be cautious with security. This is because the zkEVM technology is yet to undergo two independent audits and one internal audit, which will be carried out over the next four months to optimize security. The Polygon team has also announced a bug bounty program for the zkEVM Mainnet Beta. Those who can identify vulnerabilities in the code would be provided with a reward that could range from $5,000 to $1 million, depending on the severity of the threat.
Conclusion
The launch and appreciation of Polygon’s zkEVM prove that scaling solutions are seen as the future of Ethereum scaling. This is further highlighted by the number of rollup and scalability solutions currently in development. These protocols could reinforce the efficiency and utility of Ethereum, holding it in good stead for the future. However, cryptocurrencies can be highly volatile. Projects can collapse and prices can drop significantly in a matter of hours or even minutes. Therefore, it is extremely important to do your own research and invest only as much as you can afford to lose completely.
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