Polygon, a high throughput and low-fee Ethereum sidechain, has launched the first implementation of the completely open source zero knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM), per a statement on July 20.
Polygon is Bringing Together ZK and EVM
The move, Polygon says, represents great strides in scaling the pioneer smart contracting network and advancing the still-nascent ZK technology.
According to the development team, the layer-2 solution will inherit the security of Ethereum. At the same time, because it is EVM compatible, all smart contracts deployed on Ethereum can also be run on the zkEVM.
Their EVM tool also tags several benefits for end users. For instance, developers and projects that choose to leverage the platform will access faster transaction processing speeds and negligibly low fees.
Polygon becomes the first platform to release the first version of ZK with EVM equivalence, harnessing the fastest ZK technology offered by Plonky2, initially implemented by Polygon Zero. This stack avails developers and projects the convenience of EVM equivalence, an advantage that Polygon taps on to realize their common objective of helping scale Ethereum and drastically further lower the often fluctuating Gas fees. Notably, Plonky2 is also 100x and comparatively more efficient than available alternatives while being naturally compatible with Ethereum.
zkEVM is Highly Performant and Secure
The development team notes that there has been no compromise on security or general performance amid their implementation. Instead, they are releasing a solution that avails EVM equivalence using the often technically hard-to-realize ZK “roll-ups” for higher throughput, lower latency, and realize accommodative on-chain transaction costs.
Typically, because of the nature of ZK, generating proofs, all while safeguarding privacy, is usually expensive and slow. This is a technical challenge that Polygon overcame all while ensuring EVM compatibility in a layer-2 setup through the zkEVM, a breakthrough the team says represents a giant leap in Ethereum scaling.
Polygon has revealed that they are now open sourcing the code of zkEVM and plans to release the first public testnet. By releasing the code to the public and testing the protocol, Polygon developers hope to further enhance it ahead of launch in the days to come.
Feature Image by Peter Patel from Pixabay
