Everything you should know in the New Blockchain Guide

On July 20, 2022, Polygon Network (MATIC), an ecosystem of Ethereum (ETH) scaling solutions, unveiled zkEVM, the latest addition to its stack of solutions. The new product is the first open source zk rollup that is natively interoperable with EVM.

In this guide, we will cover the features of the new release and the possibilities it opens up for Ethereum (ETH) scaling and Web3 progress as a whole.

Polygon Network Releases zkEVM: Why Is This Crucial For Crypto?

zkEVM (short for “zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine”) is a second-layer scalability protocol on top of Ethereum (ETH). This means it is designed to make running Ethereum (ETH) dApps faster and cheaper without compromising decentralization and security.

Despite second-tier solutions helping Ethereum (ETH) scale since 2018, zkEVM is launching to change the narrative in L2s.

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• zkEVM supports Ethereum (ETH) smart contracts without modification, no need to change the code before going from L1 to L2;
• zkEVM contains all Ethereum (ETH) opcodes; every instrument from the “original” Ethereum (ETH) can therefore be implemented in zkEVM;
• By using chain data, users can save up to 90% in fees;
• zkEVM has been open source and MIT-licensed since day one: every Web3 team can experiment with zkEVM and revise it;
• Advanced zero-knowledge techniques: recursive STARKS guarantees extreme scalability while zkSNARKS is integrated for cost optimization.

With zkEVM introduced, Polygon Network (MATIC) solidified itself as the most productive and pioneering team in Ethereum’s L2s ecosystem.

What are Layer 2 solutions (L2s) – and why does Ethereum (ETH) need them?

Layer 2 solutions (also second layer solutions, or L2s) are blockchain protocols built on top of the Ethereum (ETH) network. As Ethereum (ETH) itself has low bandwidth – it can only process 15 transactions per second – it becomes too slow and inefficient for modern decentralized applications.

As such, the developers decided to create systems designed to reduce the “transaction pressure” on the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet. Simply put, they partially process the calculations off-chain and then send the results to Ethereum. Layer 1 Ethereum (ETH), in turn, confirms these results and includes them in new blocks.

Since the inception of the first Ethereum (ETH) L2 solution, the Rayden Network (RDN), which used payment channels not unlike Bitcoin’s Lightning, a number of teams have released their own version of scaling designs. By 2022, rollups proved to be the most impressive technique in terms of resource efficiency, speed and reduced transaction costs.

What are zk-rollups and zk-proofs?

Zero-knowledge rollups, or zk-rollups, should be considered a class of second-layer solutions designed to promote the throughput of the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet. Zk rollups collect (roll up) multiple Ethereum (ETH) transactions in batches before posting only minimal data to the Ethereum (ETH) network.

Technically, a zk-rollup chain is an off-chain protocol that operates outside of the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet, but leverages Ethereum (ETH) on-chain smart contracts. This smart contract deconstructs and verifies all the transfers “bound” in a single L2 transaction.

Zk-proof is another important concept for L2 architecture. In this case, “zero-knowledge” means that these cryptographic proofs allow both parties (L1 and L2) to prove the correctness of a “statement” without revealing the statement itself. Zk rollups use proofs to verify the correctness of off-chain state transitions without the need to re-transact on the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet.

What is Polygon Network (MATIC)?

Polygon Network (MATIC) was launched as Matic Network in October 2017. The project is led by Ethereum (ETH) veterans Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, Anurag Arjun and Mihailo Bjelic. Initially, it was introduced as a plasma-based L2 on top of the Ethereum (ETH) network. Plasma is a class of proof-of-stake solutions for Ethereum (ETH) scaling; not unlike rollups, its mechanisms periodically send chunks of transactions to Ethereum (ETH) in compressed form.

In 2019, Polygon (then Matic Network) raised $5.6 million in its ICO. One year later, the project decided to migrate from Ethereum (ETH) to its own blockchain – technically the Ethereum (ETH) sidechain. In 2021, the project changed to Polygon Network and introduced a full-scale ecosystem of L2 solutions for Ethereum.

Currently, the stack includes Polygon Proof-of-Stake, a blockchain that handles MATIC transactions and embedded Polygon-based dApps, and Polygon Supernets, custom-made sub-blockchains. Also, Polygon Nightfall is a privacy-focused summary in the mainnet beta. Last but not least, its ecosystem of rollups – Avail, Zero, Miden and most recently zkEVM – is under development.

zkEVM by Polygon Network: Ethereum (ETH) scaling, revisited

zkEVM is a new rollup design developed by Polygon Network (MATIC) engineers. It is poised to radically streamline the developer experience for dApps focused on using Ethereum’s L2s as a technical foundation.

Basic

Introduced on July 20, 2022, ZkEVM is the latest addition to Polygon Networks’ (MATIC) L2 scalability stack. zkEVM markets itself as a first-ever EVM-compatible ZK-based digest. The project is 360° open source: since the very first days, every Ethereum (ETH) enthusiast can use, revise and distribute their codebase.

Polygon Network’s zkEVM is focused on achieving Ethereum-level security and decentralization, which drastically increases throughput, performance and resource efficiency. zkEVM leverages Plonky2, a cutting-edge zk-based scaling technology. Plonky2 provides very easy proofs and facilitates recursive verification of SNARKS (“Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge”). This allows users to verify evidence at 100x reduced speed.

Besides improved sample generation times, zkEVM creates opportunities for incredibly cheap transactions; every dApp on zkEVM is far more cost-effective than its Ethereum-based competitors.

Seamless migration from Ethereum (ETH)

But the most impressive “secret sauce” of the new product is its 100% compatibility with Ethereum (ETH). Developers can literally use the same instruments they used while building on-chain applications for the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet.

Developers can run Ethereum’s smart contract on zkEVM without changing a single line of code. All Ethereum (ETH) tools can be seamlessly integrated into zkEVM-based dApps: the new product will support all Ethereum (ETH) opcodes. Thus, Ethereum’s (ETH) battle-tested security will be inherited by one new product:

EVM equivalence means that any smart contract or development tool that you can use on Ethereum can be used on Polygon #zkEVM. It’s just like using Ethereum, but with the breakthrough scaling power of ZK technology.

Unmatched resource efficiency

Besides EVM equivalence, zkEVM leverages enforced censorship resistance architecture and advocates a decentralized-by-standard design. Polygon zkEVM uses an extensible EVM processor with a new zk assembly language to stay ahead of Web3 innovation.

Technically, Polygon zkEVM is powered by Polygon Zero’s (formerly Mir Protocol) fastest zk-secure design in Web3. zkEVM’s zkSNARK uses the minimum possible resources of Ethereum’s L1 for more efficient calculations.

Time line

Following the official announcement of Polygon zkEVM’s July 2022 release and making its codebase open source, Polygon Network (MATIC) engineers are down and preparing their public testnet release.

As such, a public testnet could be live as soon as Q3 2022. The mainnet release of the game-changing protocol is tentatively planned for early 2023.

The bottom line

Polygon Network, a leading ecosystem of Ethereum L2 scaling instruments, unveiled the zkEVM digest. Polygon zkEVM is set to be “EVM equivalent” since it supports all Ethereum (ETH) smart contracts and development instruments.

Besides EVM equivalence, Polygon zkEVM combines super-low fees and near-zero latency with the battle-tested security of the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet.