Unlocking Ethereum’s true potential for scalability and privacy with 6 ZkEVM projects
Layer 2 scaling is one of the most critical issues in the blockchain industry and we need to develop robust solutions before the next crypto bull run! There were a lot of problems in early 2022, with Ethereum L1 being clogged with thousands of transactions, causing a lot of frustration for NFT buyers and Defi traders. zkEVMs are one of the most innovative and popular solutions!
What is zkEVM?
zkEVM (Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine) is a variant of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) that allows the creation and execution of smart contracts in a zero-knowledge setting.
zkEVM allows the execution of smart contracts in a way that protects the terms of the contract and the privacy of the data involved in the contract. This is achieved through zero-knowledge proofs, which are cryptographic proofs that allow one party to prove to another party that a certain statement is true without revealing any other information about the statement.
There are many different types of zkEVMs, and it's important to differentiate between them. While each of these types strives to build the best zkEVM possible, they all attempt to achieve this goal in different ways.
Type 1 (Full Ethereum - Equivalent) – These zkEVMs do not change any part of the Ethereum system and strive for full equivalence. Examples include Taiko and PSE.
Type 2 (Full EVM - Equivalent) - These zkEVMs look exactly like Ethereum, but differ in aspects such as data structures and state trees. Examples include Scroll and Polygon Hermez.
Type 2.5 (EVM - equal to gas cost except) - These zkEVMs significantly increase the gas cost to cater for specific operations in the EVM that are very difficult to zk prove. These may break some developer tools, so developers need to be careful when deploying dApps here.
Type 3 (nearly equivalent to EVM) – These zkEVMs are nearly equivalent to EVM, but they have to make some sacrifices and remove features that are difficult to implement in a zkEVM system. Very few projects wish to become Type 3 and should be considered a transitional state before they migrate to Type 2.5 or Type 2
Type 4 (High-Level Language Equivalent) — These zkEVMs are compatible at the language level (Solidity, Vyper). They take smart contracts written in these languages and make it possible to compile them in another language that is used to build zkEVM systems. Currently, zkSync is one such zkEVM implementation.
You can find a more in-depth technical explanation as well as the pros and cons of each type of zkEVM in Vitalik’s blog.
What is zk-rollup?
zk-rollup is a layer 2 scaling solution for blockchain networks. It allows transactions to be processed off-chain and then “aggregated” into a single on-chain transaction, thereby reducing load on the main blockchain and increasing transaction throughput.
In zk-rollup, transactions are processed by a set of validators responsible for ensuring the correctness of the transactions. These validators create a zero-knowledge proof, which is a cryptographic proof that proves a statement is true without revealing any additional information about the statement. Zero-knowledge proofs are then added to on-chain transactions, allowing transactions to be verified without having to process each transaction on the main blockchain.
zkEVM and zk-rollups
One major difference between zk-rollups and zkEVMs is that zk-rollups focus on scalability, while zkEVMs focus on privacy. zk-rollup allows large volumes of transactions to be processed off-chain while still maintaining the security and integrity of the Ethereum main chain. zkEVM, on the other hand, allows the execution of smart contracts in a privacy-preserving manner, allowing the creation of private, confidential transactions on the Ethereum platform.
Both zk-rollup and zkEVM are significant innovations that help improve Ethereum’s scalability and privacy. They all have the potential to significantly enhance the capabilities of the Ethereum platform and make it more useful for a wide range of applications.
Now that we understand the basics of zkEVM and zk-rollups, let's take a closer look at the different projects implementing zkEVM.
Zero synchronization
zkSync is Ethereum’s layer 2 scaling solution designed to increase the scalability and speed of the Ethereum network. It is based on zero-knowledge proofs, allowing transactions to be verified without revealing underlying data. This allows zkSync to handle off-chain transactions, meaning they are not recorded on the Ethereum blockchain itself. Instead, they are recorded in a separate off-chain data structure called a "Merkle tree."
A key feature of zkSync is that it uses "optimistic" transport, which allows users to send and receive transactions without waiting for them to be confirmed on the Ethereum blockchain. This significantly reduces transaction times and allows for higher transaction throughput.
In addition to using zero-knowledge proofs and optimistic transfers, zkSync also leverages several other technologies to improve scalability and security. These include signature aggregation, which allows multiple signatures to be compressed into a single signature, and multi-chain support, which helps zkSync interact with other blockchain networks.
Overall, zkSync aims to provide a scalable and secure platform for decentralized applications (dApps) and other Ethereum-based projects. By allowing faster and more efficient transactions, it aims to make it easier for developers to build and deploy dApps, and for users to interact with them.
One of the main challenges with zkSync is the need to balance scalability and security. While using zero-knowledge proofs and other techniques enables faster and more efficient transactions, it also introduces additional complexity and potential vulnerabilities. Therefore, zkSync continuously works to improve and refine its technology to ensure that it is as secure and robust as possible.
Despite these challenges, zkSync has made significant progress since its launch in 2020 and has gained a strong following among developers and users. Its unique approach to scaling Ethereum has attracted considerable attention and investment, and has the potential to play an important role in the future development of the Ethereum ecosystem.
Starkware 星网
Starkware is a project that developed a protocol called StarkNet. StarkNet is a layer 2 scaling solution designed to increase the efficiency and scalability of blockchains, especially those using smart contracts.
A key feature of StarkNet is its use of STARKs, a zero-knowledge proof system that allows users to prove the correctness of computations without revealing the underlying data. This allows for greater privacy and security on the network, as well as the ability to perform complex calculations without the need for a trusted third party.
StarkNet also utilizes sharding, a technology that allows a blockchain to be divided into multiple smaller chains or “shards” that can be processed in parallel. This allows for greater throughput and faster transaction times, as each shard can be processed independently of the other shards.
One of StarkNet’s main goals is to enable the creation of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications at scale. DeFi applications often rely on smart contracts and other complex calculations, which can put stress on the underlying blockchain and limit its scalability. By using StarkNet, DeFi developers can create more efficient and scalable applications that can handle larger volumes of transactions.
StarkNet already integrates with several popular blockchains, including Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Polkadot. This allows developers to use StarkNet to build DeFi applications on top of these platforms without having to worry about scalability issues.
In addition to its focus on DeFi, StarkNet is used in a variety of other applications, including supply chain management, voting systems, and even medical research. The protocol’s versatility and scalability make it an attractive option for a wide range of use cases.
Overall, Starkware’s StarkNet protocol represents a significant advancement in blockchain technology. Its use of STARKs and sharding improves efficiency, privacy, and scalability, making it an ideal solution for a variety of applications, especially those in the DeFi space.
Polygon Hermes
The Polygon blockchain project recently introduced a new technology called Hermez zkEVM. The technology is designed to improve the scalability and privacy of the Ethereum blockchain.
Hermez zkEVM aims to solve the scalability issues of the Ethereum blockchain by using zero-knowledge proofs to enable faster and cheaper transactions on the Ethereum network. In the context of the Hermez zkEVM, zero-knowledge proofs can be used to verify the correctness of transactions without revealing specific details. This allows for faster transaction processing and reduced fees since the entire network is not required to verify each transaction.
In addition to improving scalability, Hermez zkEVM also enhances the privacy of the Ethereum network. By using zero-knowledge proofs, Hermez zkEVM allows for confidential transactions, hiding the specific details of the transaction from all parties except the sender and receiver. This is useful for a variety of applications, such as allowing individuals to conduct financial transactions without revealing their identity, or allowing companies to conduct business without disclosing sensitive financial information. As mentioned before among the various types of zkEVM, this implementation of Polygon is compatible at the bytecode level rather than at the language level.
Hermez zkEVM is a promising development for the Ethereum network and the broader blockchain community. By improving scalability and privacy, it has the potential to make the Ethereum network more attractive to a wide range of dApps and use cases. It will be interesting to see how this technology is adopted and how it affects the future development of the Ethereum network and other blockchain platforms.
Scroll
Scroll is a decentralized protocol designed to bring scalability and greater security to the Ethereum blockchain. A key feature of Scroll is that it uses zk-rollups, a layer 2 scaling solution that allows for faster and cheaper transactions while maintaining the security of the main blockchain.
In zk-rollup, transactions are bundled together and verified by smart contracts on the main blockchain. This allows for higher transaction throughput because the burden of validating each individual transaction is removed from the main chain and placed on the aggregate contract.
Scroll is specifically focused on creating an EVM-compatible zk-rollup, which means it can support the same programming languages and smart contracts as Ethereum. This is important because it allows developers to easily migrate their existing applications to the Scroll network without making any changes to their code.
Overall, Scroll is a promising project working to bring the benefits of zk-rollups to the Ethereum ecosystem. By creating EVM-compatible solutions, Scroll can provide developers with an easy way to scale their applications and take advantage of the increased security and efficiency of zk-rollups. As the Ethereum network continues to grow and the need for scalable solutions increases, projects like Scroll will play a vital role in the growth of the blockchain industry.
Consensys and Infura
ConsenSys and Infura, two of the most prominent names in the Ethereum ecosystem, are developing a new version of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) called zkEVM. The project aims to improve Ethereum’s scalability, which has been a significant challenge for the platform.
ConsenSys and Infura are working on integrating zkEVM into the Ethereum mainnet, making it available to anyone on the network. This is an exciting development for the Ethereum community as it has the potential to solve some of the scalability challenges that have hindered the platform’s growth in the past.
While the company hasn't released many details about the project, their approach to implementation and other things, it's still one of the most exciting projects that developers are focusing on. Consensys has built some of the core infrastructure that underpins the Ethereum ecosystem, and it won’t be surprising if this zkEVM implementation becomes one of the most popular among the crowd.
Taiko
Taiko bills itself on its website as a “Type 1 zkEVM—a fully decentralized, zk-rollup equivalent of Ethereum.” They claim that being a Type 1 zkEVM is one of the main differences compared to other projects on this list. They made almost no changes to the Ethereum architecture, including hash functions, state trees, or gas costs. By doing this, they can reuse the execution client implementation with as little modification as possible. One of the main advantages of using a Type 1 zkEVM like Taiko is the ease of migration without making too many changes to the code. For example, you could deploy on Ethereum L1 and then migrate to Taiko. On the other hand, you can also deploy on Taiko first and then migrate to any other EVM compatible chain.
Daniel Wang is the founder of Taiko and was previously the founder of Loopring until he stepped down from that role in 2021. This happened before Loopring’s deal with Gamestop. While there has been some speculation as to why this happened, there was never any animosity between the two.