Polygon Labs has announced a major acquisition of Toposware, one of the most promising startups in the field of ZK engineering. This acquisition will help to take the ZK technology to the next level in a big way.
Today, we are so pleased to welcome @Toposware, zk to the Polygon Labs team.Toposware helped develop the Type 1 zkEVM, and are a powerhouse of zk innovation and technology, having made significant progress on zk-based interoperability. pic.twitter.com/hQ2dZ1mhsC
— Polygon | Aggregated (@0xPolygon) June 4, 2024
Toposware Joins Polygon Labs, Pioneers Type 1 ZKEVM Prover
In the first half of this year, Toposware and Polygon Labs have worked on creating a Type 1 ZKEVM prover. ZK proving technology was a groundbreaking advancement in the blockchain sector; special thanks go to the Toposware team, a well-known pioneer in this field of research and development.
Polygon Labs has today confirmed that Toposware has joined the company. The merger of Toposware with Polygon’s current ZK invention teams is likely to inspire the creation of numerous core areas. These areas are AggLayer, Polygon CDK & Polygon zkEVM, and an upgrade for the Polygon as a ZK validium.
The company Toposware is an active member among the ZK research community. They were also responsible for the creation of the Type 1 prover – a major improvement which resulted in a significant open-source contribution to the Ethereum ecosystem. Adding the Type 1 prover can secure existing chains, or attach to the AggLayer which provides a neutral and interoperable network for sovereign blockchains.
Polygon PoS Network to Connect with AggLayer, Research Underway
While these are good improvements over other methods, they are still not a complete solution but the Type 1 proved very cost-efficient in proving Ethereum transactions. In February, when the announcement above was made, the cost per transaction had been $0.0029, and $0.534 played to prove an Ethereum block.
The purchase of Toposware is anticipated to drive positive changes across all Polygon protocols. Following community consensus, there is research underway to connect the Polygon PoS network to the AggLayer within the next few months. TopoSWAP will be involved and play a very important role in transitioning the network to a ZK-protected, chain.
Over the last few years, Polygon Labs has directed the research and development of ZKs in the industry, moving the narrative from theory to practical application. The rapid adoption of Plonky3, an open-source technology used to build SP1, is one example of how Polygon’s research is influencing other ZK teams.
