As a leading blockchain network, Ethereum has a vast community of developers who continually build new applications to scale and make them more efficient. The scalability of Ethereum remains a major issue and the approach to solving it via a layer 2 network has been recognized as a feasible solution. In this article, we will cover one of the layer 2 networks – zkSync, which is using zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) tech-stack to scale Ethereum and has gained popularity recently.
Let’s explore how zk-sync works and what developments it has brought to Ethereum as well as the overall blockchain ecosystem.
What is zkSync?
zkSync is a layer-2 Ethereum scaling blockchain network that utilizes the zero-knowledge rollups (ZK-rollup) to achieve greater efficiency. It enables cheaper and high-speed transactions while providing the inherent security of Ethereum. The team behind zkSync launched the first iteration in June 2020. However, its fully functioning mainnet went live in 2023. It currently has two mainnet clusters live, zkSync Era and zkSync Lite.
The adoption of ZKP has widened in the past few years and zkSync is a pioneer project among all others. zkSync is now much more focused on building its own EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) called zkEVM which will be solely based on zero-knowledge proofs. EVM is an engine from where all the input and output are processed. Just like Ethereum, zkSync uses Solidity programming language for running decentralized applications.
The developer entity behind zkSync is Matter Labs and they have been working on the project since 2019. According to onchain data from DeFillama, zkSync currently has a TVL of $122.7 million which peaked to $196 million in July 2023.
How zkSync Functions?
The foundation of zkSync was developed using the functionality of Zero Knowledge Proofs-based rollups or ZK-rollups. Before moving further, let’s first define what rollups are and what advantage they bring to the Ethereum scaling landscape.
What are the Rollups in Blockchain Scaling?
Rollups can be defined as technical implementations in scaling that combine data in batches, process it off chain and later upload it to the blockchain. This way it takes off heavy load from the base network and improves transaction speeds. Rollups fall under two main categories: zk-rollups and optimistic rollups. The fundamental difference between both these is the way they verifies and stores blockchain data. Many developers often praise zk-rollups for its efficiency, less gas and storage requirement. Moreover, zero-knowledge technology is proven to be more secure and it does not disclose users’ private information even in the public transactions.
Rollups in zkSync
zkSync uses zk-rollups that process Ethereum transactions in batches and they are verified by using zero knowledge proofs. To verify a transaction, Ethereum network only needs to check the proof validity for an entire batch of transactions rather than going through all transactions within the batch. The biggest advantage of using zk-proofs is that batching transactions and generating proofs does not require huge computational power. While opting for zk-proofs, zkSync used zk-SNARK as a proof-generation method.
Key functionalities of zkSync
- Account Abstraction
zkSync Era is implemented with native account abstraction functionality that could upgrade traditional wallets or externally owned accounts (EOAs) to smart contracts-like capabilities. This feature unlocks extended possibilities for wallets like no seed phrases, transaction batching, and auto-payments.
- Privacy
The use of zk-rollups make zkSync utterly secure and a private infrastructure which is required for a typical blockchain ecosystem. With its privacy-preserving features, zkSync offers robust security while enabling faster transaction executions.
- Security
Similar to all other layer 2 networks, zkSync inherits the security of the Ethereum network to its execution layer. This protects it against hacks, threats, and other harmful network attacks.
- EVM Compatibility
The main value proposition of zkSync is its compatibility with EVM. zkSync’s zkEVM shares smart contract data & transaction executions with EVM seamlessly using zk-proofs. This directly benefits developers to easily build Ethereum-compatible decentralized applications.
What is zkEVM?
zkEVM is a varient of EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) that supports zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) computation while working with Ethereum’s native blockchain infrastructure. It takes an approach of implementing zero-knowledge technology to scale Ethereum. zkSync has its own zkEVM which is suitable for energy-efficient computations and upscaling existing Ethereum infrastructure. Developers within the Ethereum community can also write zk-compatible smart contracts in zkSync’s zkEVM similar to the traditional EVM.
zkSync Airdrop
The zkSync airdrop was released recently on 11th June 2024 with a plan to distribute 3.675 billion ZK tokens to eligible users. The team behind zkSync has allocated a 17.5% token supply to the airdrop and has confirmed it will be a one-time airdrop. To participate into Aidrop, users had to send transactions on zkSync Era mainnet. The snapshot was taken on March 2024 and the team selected more than 695k eligible wallets. All these users will be able to claim their tokens until 3 Jan, 2025.
WHat is Future of zkSync?
zkSync has gained a wide audience within the crypto ecosystem in the past few years with its airdrop campaign. There are more than 100 dApps deployed on zkSync currently. However, its longevity and sustainability will depend on the right approach to ecosystem development. Many users have recently noted that activity on zkSync has dropped significantly post the airdrop campaign.
The current position of zkSync is strongest among all other layer 2 networks and its is capable of becoming a leader among all. As its been said that zk-rollups could potentially achieve a TPS of over 100,000, zkSync is expected to become the most functional layer 2 network within the Ethereum ecosystem. The future of zkSync will be highly dependent on the adoption of Ethereum, competitors and its credibility to stay ahead of the curve.
Conclusion
zkSync has addressed the long-lasting scalability issue of Ethereum and it has attained massive success in doing so. As a layer-2 scaling solution, zkSync can improve Ethereum’s performance significantly while giving it an opportunity of steady growth and development. The use of zero-knowledge proofs in zkSync offers more efficient, seamless, and cheaper transactions than Ethereum’s base layer. All these aspects make zkSync one of the promising zk-based Ethereum scaling solutions.
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