zk-Sync v2.0 and the Future of zk-Rollups

CoinVoiceNov 05, 2022
zk-Sync v2.0 and the Future of zk-Rollups

Introduction

“zk-Rollups” has probably been the hottest Web 3 buzzword of the year. With zk-Sync’s v2.0 “baby alpha” mainnet launch in just the past few days, this excitement has reached its zenith [1]. But behind all these buzzwords, what do “zk-Rollups” really refer to? And where does zk-Sync come into play? In this article, I will endeavor to dive deep into the principles and practice of zk-Rollups, explicate the key technical hallmarks of zk-Sync v2.0 as a project, and explore the potential future implications for this long-awaited technology.

Principles of zk-Rollups

Why do we need zk-Rollups in the first place? Sure, Ethereum is great. But in its current state, the network is fundamentally a diseconomy of scale. As network activity increases, gas prices become prohibitively expensive, particularly if there is a surge of network activity all at once. As Ethereum gains popularity in usage and traction over the past few years, its current limited scalability has become the network’s Achilles’ heel.

  1. How do we make sure the rollup can “fit” everything?
  2. How do we make sure the rollup is not spoofed?
Source: https://immutablex.medium.com/ground-up-guide-zkevm-evm-compatibility-rollups-787b6e88108e
Code Autograders — Simple Example of a Zero Knowledge Proof. Source: Gradescope.

zk-Sync v2.0

zk-Sync v2.0 is just one of the many projects in currently in play in developing a zk-EVM (others include StarkNet, Polygon Hermez, and Scroll). Unlike zk-Sync v1.0, which required users to re-build large sections of their codebases to port from the EVM to zk-Sync, in zk-Sync v2.0 programmers can deploy their applications with little-to-no changes — or as zk-Sync may like to claim.

Types of zk-EVMs. Annotated and adapted from https://vitalik.ca/general/2022/08/04/zkevm.html

The Future for zk-Rollups

With many competitive players in the battle for zk-EVMs, arguably it is only a matter of time before we see a fully-functional zk-EVM. But what’s next? A road is only useful so long as there are buildings on the road; the long-term strength of a zk-Rollup comes from the projects using that solution.

References

[1] https://blog.matter-labs.io/baby-alpha-has-arrived-5b10798bc623

Author

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as investment or other advice.

Lastest information

see all