• Polygon’s zkEVM launched on Monday, the first of its kind to be deployed on the Ethereum mainnet.
• zkEVM is a scaling solution that provides fast finality, complete open-source accessibility and integration with leading protocols like Lens, Balancer and The Graph.
• Days before Polygon’s launch, rival development team, Matter Labs released their version of the zkEVM – zkSync Era on Ethereum mainnet.
Polygon Launches ZK EVM on Ethereum Mainnet
Polygon has recently launched their highly anticipated scalability solution – zkEVM – onto the Ethereum mainnet. As one of the few alternatives to Layer 1 scaling solutions such as Plasma or sharding, zkEVM offers fast finality and complete open source accessibility for developers and users alike. With leading protocols already integrated into it, such as Lens, Balancer and The Graph, this new technology could prove to be an important asset in driving Ethereum adoption forward in the future.
What is ZK EVM?
Zero-knowledge (zk) EVM stands for zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine; an advanced version of EVM which uses zero-knowledge proofs to generate transaction batches stored off-chain thereby reducing gas fees for users. This revolutionary technology allows for more efficient scaling solutions than traditional layer 1 options without sacrificing security or decentralization.
Why is ZK EVM Important?
The increasing demand on blockchain networks has created a need for better scalability solutions that can handle high network activity while maintaining low gas fees so users can still access them affordably without any major disruption or slowdowns in service. This is where zkEVM comes in; providing an alternative scaling solution which takes advantage of zero-knowledge proofs to create transactions at much higher rates while keeping costs down.
ZK Wars Between Polygon & Matter Labs
In what’s been dubbed as “the ZK wars” between Polygon and development team Matter Labs (behind project zkSync), both teams have been vying for supremacy over who will be the first to launch a working version of their respective projects onto the Ethereum mainnet. While Polygon had intended to be first with their launch date scheduled for Monday 27th March 2021, Matter Lab’s surprise launch of their own version – ‘zkSync Era’ – days before caught them by surprise and set up a race between both projects.
Conclusion
Despite initial disappointment from being beaten at the post by Matter Labs‘ surprise announcement earlier than expected, Polygon’s successful launch marks another step towards increased adoption of blockchain technology through improved scalability solutions such as zkEVMs on Ethereum mainnets across the board