BigONE Insights: All You Need To Know About ZK-Rollups
New innovative products are the order of the day in Web3 and DeFI, and it is easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of information available on a daily basis. The Zk Rollups are one of the most significant innovations in recent times. ZK Rollups have the potential to completely transform the Ethereum network and usher in a new era of decentralized applications and financial instruments. ZK Rollups (Zero-Knowledge Rollups) are an Ethereum network layer 2 scaling solution. They combine multiple transactions into a single transaction, which is then committed to the Ethereum blockchain.
The use of zero-knowledge proofs, which allow transactions to be verified without revealing the underlying data, is the key to ZK Rollups. This improves transaction privacy and security by keeping sensitive data off the main Ethereum blockchain. Currently, each node (a computer that runs software and is connected to other computers that make up the Ethereum network) in the network must verify each transaction on the Ethereum network, which can be time-consuming. This article will explain Zk rollups and their significance for the future of DeFI and the crypto industry in general.
Understanding ZK-Rollups
ZK-rollups use their zero-proof technology to send regular validity proofs to associated smart contracts on the parent network, confirming the accuracy of the layer-2 network transactions. Because of the reliance on zero-proofs, the volume of shared transaction data is reduced, making ZK rollups privacy-focused by default. Aside from privacy, ZK rollups remove the requirement for users to wait several days before withdrawing funds from the layer-2 solution. The technology’s infancy, however, is its most significant disadvantage.
ZK rollups are more difficult to create, necessitating heavy reliance on a few developers to keep the entire system running. Furthermore, the network structure frequently necessitates the installation of sophisticated and otherwise costly hardware to validate transactions. Furthermore, if the validation sequencing is centralized, ZK rollups can pose some of the same censorship risks. Because not all ZK rollups are the same, these centralization factors must be investigated separately. The most common ZK solutions used in cryptography are zk-Stark and zk-Snark.
Examples Of Zk-Rollups
ZKSync
ZK is an abbreviation for zero-knowledge proof. zkSync is a network that offloads Ethereum network traffic, relieving congestion and high transfer fees on the main net. ZkSync is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum that offers low gas and fast transactions without sacrificing security. Matter Labs was founded in 2018 by Alex Gluchowski, the brains behind zkSync. After a year of planning, the Germany-based team launched zkSync’s mainnet 1.0 in June 2020.
Between September 2019 and November 2022, Matter Labs received $58 million in funding from OKEx, Andreessen Horowitz, Gnosis, and Rarible, among others.
2. Starknet
It is exempt from the capabilities of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) because it is non-EVM compatible. Cairo, which it has designed and utilizes, is its own technology. Additionally, it has a unique zero-knowledge (ZK) method called zk-Stark that it prefers to the well-known ZK algorithm zk-SNARK. This has benefits like a zero-trusted setup and better ZK performance according to reports.
3. Scroll
A Zk EVM still in development, which aims to be an EVM equivalent rollup i.e making it easy for developers to use the same code on L1, and on the ZK rollup.
4. Polygon ZK Evm
Another ZK rollup still under development, powered by a leading L2 chain Polygon. Main aim is to create an EVM that can rival that on the L1 blockchain Ethereum.
Conclusion
BigONE believes we are getting closer to the realization of the ZK reality, as predicted by Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, about the rise of ZK protocols and how they will be necessary for the next phase of decentralized finance, and can’t wait to see what this protocol has in store for the future of Web3.
