For years, the blockchain industry has been embroiled in a heated debate over how to scale Ethereum and which technology will most successfully achieve this goal. After four years of development, the release of zkSync 2.0 may bring an end to this discussion. Let’s dive into the development of zkSync and its ecosystem, and what the future holds for the network in 2023.
What is zkSync?
First, let’s start with the basics. zkSync is an Ethereum second layer (L2) scaling solution created by the Matter Labs team. Founded in 2018, Matter Labs is led by CEO Alex G. and is headquartered in Germany. It has more than 50 experienced developers, researchers, and entrepreneurs, as well as key members including Chief Operating Officer (COO) Zoe Gadsden, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Ankur Rakshit, Chief Product Officer (CPO) Steve Newcomb and Shazia Hasan.
One of zkSync’s most outstanding features is that it leverages zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) to enable private transactions. This means that users can conduct transactions without revealing the details of the transaction, solving a difficult problem for public blockchains. Privacy is a fundamental human right, and zkSync protects this right when users conduct transactions on the Ethereum blockchain.
Since zkSync Era was deployed on the mainnet, it is no longer limited by the lack of smart contract support and can now operate as a zkEVM-compatible second-layer blockchain. This major upgrade marks a turning point in the development of the zkSync ecosystem, as developers can now more easily deploy their EVM-compatible applications on zkSync Era, paving the way for new growth opportunities.
Highlights of zkSync Era
Mainnet-level security and no reliance on third parties
Permissionless, EVM-compatible smart contracts
Standard Web3 API
Preserve key EVM features, such as smart contract composability
Account abstraction and meta-transactions
Key technical breakthroughs of zkSync Era architecture
When scaling Ethereum, there is a balance to be struck between security, scalability, and decentralization, known as the “scalability trilemma.” However, there is a fourth factor to consider: programmability. Current scaling solutions often sacrifice one or more features in order to maximize scalability. However, the zkSync Era architecture aims to optimize all four features by combining two technological breakthroughs. The two technologies are:
zkEVM: is an engine that powers EVM-compatible ZK Rollup, a scaling solution that provides layer-1 (L1) security and support for Solidity smart contracts.
zkPorter: is a system based on off-chain data availability that provides two orders of magnitude scalability over ordinary Rollup solutions.
zkSync aims to achieve the ultimate goal of scaling Ethereum by combining its zkRollup technology with Eth2 data sharding. This combination will result in a system capable of achieving over 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) without sacrificing any of the four factors. zkSync Era enables flexible smart contract functionality by leveraging its proprietary programming languages Solidity and Zinc.
Explore the zkSync ecosystem
Currently, there are more than 200 projects being developed on zkSync, covering various verticals such as wallets, decentralized finance (DeFi), infrastructure, payment gateways, public products, social, privacy, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Given that zkSync Era is a relatively new network, the number of decentralized applications available on its mainnet is relatively limited at present.
Decentralized exchanges (DEX) are currently the most popular category on zkSync Era in terms of total locked value (TVL). SyncSwap, Mute.io, and SpaceFi are the three largest DEXs on the Era network, with Mute.io’s TVL already approaching $1.4 million. Trading on these platforms is similar to trading on Ethereum’s DEXs, but with the advantage of significantly cheaper and faster transactions.
In the NFT space, zkSync hosts several NFT marketplaces on its network, including Reddio, which allows developers to bring NFTs into their applications without incurring gas fees. The NFT scene on zkSync Era is also booming, thanks to several infrastructure projects tailored for NFT creators. One of the earliest NFT projects on the platform is MintSquare, an NFT minting platform and marketplace for zero-knowledge-based L2. Also recently joining Era are Omnisea, which provides DIY NFT placement services, and Kreatorland, an NFT issuance platform and marketplace.
Although there aren’t many protocols on the zkSync Era mainnet right now, there are plans to have existing DeFi protocols like Uniswap, Balancer, 1inch, and Frax deployed on the network in the future. These protocols are expected to be launched soon, so get ready for more exciting developments to come!
For a comprehensive overview of the ecosystem, you can learn more details by visiting the official website of the zkSync ecosystem.
What's next for zkSync
zkSync is significantly solving Ethereum’s scalability issues with its zkEVM L2 solution. Combining the benefits of ZK Rollup, such as cheap, fast, and secure transactions, with the flexibility offered by Ethereum smart contracts, zkSync provides a compelling platform for developers and users to build and transact. Due to its high performance and compatibility, we expect the zkSync Era to solve Ethereum’s scalability trilemma.
