Interview: Wormhole China
Guest: Marcus, Scroll APAC Lead
Compiled by Wormhole China
In the field of blockchain, the "impossible triangle" consisting of scalability, security and decentralization has always been a difficult problem that industry builders are committed to overcoming. As an Ethereum expansion solution, Scroll has well balanced these issues through its innovative zkEVM technology architecture, and has also achieved full compatibility with EVM, providing developers with a seamless migration platform. In terms of cross-chain interoperability, Scroll also chose to cooperate with Wormhole to further enhance the flexibility and scalability of its ecosystem.
For this exclusive interview, we were fortunate to invite Marcus, head of Scroll APAC, as a guest to discuss with us in depth Scroll’s technological innovation, ecological development, latest achievements and future plans, revealing the core concept and vision of this EVM-equivalent zkRollup.
Whether you are a developer, user, or enthusiast interested in blockchain technology, I hope that Scroll’s unique insights and experiences will bring you new inspiration and thinking.
The following is the complete content of this interview after editing:
1. Please briefly introduce Scroll and its core philosophy and vision
Marcus: Scroll is an Ethereum scaling solution, specifically, it is a general zero-knowledge L2 zkRollup. Our goal is to improve Ethereum's scalability, security, and decentralization.
In terms of scalability, Scroll is committed to solving the scalability problems that are prevalent in current blockchain networks by implementing innovative technologies such as zkEVM. We hope that through these technologies, we can process more transactions while keeping the network running efficiently.
Security is one of our top priorities. Scroll aims to provide a powerful and secure operating environment for decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. We believe that blockchain technology can only realize its potential if security is ensured.
Decentralization is one of the core concepts of blockchain, and Scroll is no exception. We are committed to building a truly decentralized and censorship-resistant platform so that users and developers can enjoy the freedom and transparency brought by decentralization.
We pay close attention to the needs of developers, and Scroll provides an environment that is completely equivalent to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) bytecode, so that developers can easily migrate and use existing tools and smart contracts. In addition, we have reduced gas fees through more efficient block processing methods, and shortened the block time to 3 seconds, compared to Ethereum's 12 seconds, which increases the transaction processing speed.
In general, Scroll's development direction is consistent with Ethereum's long-term vision. We hope that through our efforts, we can provide a more efficient, secure and decentralized solution for the blockchain ecosystem.
2. As a zkEVM L2 solution, what is the core technical architecture of Scroll? How is its compatibility or equivalence with EVM?
Marcus: Scroll's core technical architecture is designed around zkEVM, which enables us to achieve full compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Our goal is to ensure that any Ethereum smart contract can run seamlessly on Scroll without any modifications.
First, Scroll is an EVM-equivalent zkRollup that leverages zero-knowledge proof technology to improve scalability and privacy. Our zkEVM design not only bridges the gap between ZK Rollups and full EVM equivalence, but also ensures more efficient transaction processing capabilities without sacrificing security and decentralization.
Secondly, Scroll is fully compatible with Ethereum at the bytecode level, which means that existing Ethereum applications can be directly migrated to Scroll without any code modification, greatly reducing the migration cost and time.
We also attach great importance to cooperation with the Ethereum community. Scroll has adopted an open source development approach from the beginning, building the system together with contributors in the community. By absorbing the best ideas and practices in the community, we have created a more secure and better designed system, ensuring compatibility and co-evolution with the Ethereum roadmap.
3. What do you think about cross-chain interoperability? What factors do you consider when choosing a cross-chain solution? Why did you choose to cooperate with Wormhole for integration?
Marcus: With the increasing number of L2 and L1 solutions, cross-chain interoperability has become particularly important. Especially when the Bitcoin ecosystem has begun to introduce various L2 solutions, users need to interact seamlessly between different blockchain ecosystems, otherwise the new users of the entire Web3 will become more fragmented due to the different ecosystems, and liquidity will be limited.
For L2 and even L1, finding a good cross-chain interoperability infrastructure will not only help their own development, but also benefit each other and improve the interactive experience of the entire blockchain. When choosing a cross-chain interoperability solution, we believe that the two most important factors are security and compatibility. Both must be achieved.
Security is the primary consideration, because when synchronizing information between different ecosystems and blockchains, if security is not guaranteed, it will soon face various crises. Compatibility and scalability demonstrate the technical foundation of interoperability protocols, which determines how complex interactions the protocol can pass and affects which applications can capture and apply these interactions.
We chose Wormhole because it excels in interoperability and security, and is considered the best infrastructure solution available today. Wormhole not only provides reliable security, but also has strong compatibility and can support complex cross-chain interactions, which is exactly what we need.
For more details about Scroll’s integration with Wormhole, please see “Latest Integration! Wormhole helps Scroll connect to 30+ blockchains”
4. From your perspective, what positive impacts does integration with Wormhole have on developers, users, and the entire ecosystem?
Marcus: From a developer’s perspective, integration support with a protocol like Wormhole, which stands out in terms of technology and security, allows them to develop decentralized applications for multi-chain solutions more freely. This type of application is urgently needed by all ecosystems under the current trend.
For users, Wormhole’s technology can effectively reduce liquidity issues and the inconvenience of cross-chain interactions. Users can experience different blockchain application technologies and scenarios more smoothly, which also has a positive effect on large-scale promotion.
These advantages are not only beneficial to developers and users, but also facilitate projects in the entire ecosystem. Ecosystem projects can attract more users from other ecosystems and explore more possibilities for interacting with other ecosystem applications. In addition, the integration of Wormhole also improves the liquidity of assets, which has many positive effects on the development of future ecological projects.
5. How is the Scroll ecosystem developing? What support and resources does Scroll provide to developers and ecosystem partners?
Marcus: Scroll's ecosystem has been growing steadily. We are actively launching measures to support developers and ecosystem development through the "Level Up with Scroll" platform. This platform not only provides ecosystem subsidies, but also designs challenges suitable for beginners to encourage developers to improve their skills and contribute to the ecosystem. We are committed to accelerating the development of the ecosystem by providing the necessary resources.
Specifically, Scroll provides ecosystem grants through the "Level Up" platform. We have two different tracks: the Starter Track provides up to $10,000 per project, while the Launch Track provides up to $100,000 per project. These financial supports are designed to incentivize innovation and growth within the developer community.
In addition, the "Level Up with Scroll" platform provides beginner-friendly challenges that enable developers to learn and apply new skills, such as Solidity. These challenges help developers get started quickly and improve their technical level.
We have also partnered with Chainlink Labs to join the Chainlink SCALE program. This collaboration promotes the adoption of Scroll’s Ethereum-native zkEVM scaling solution, providing our developers with low-cost, reliable Chainlink Web3 services. Through this collaboration, developers can more easily access industry-leading oracle data and services, thereby increasing their success in the ecosystem. In addition, this will also help reduce the gas costs incurred by Chainlink nodes when submitting oracle reports on Scroll.
Scroll is also committed to providing developers with a variety of development tools, from oracles to auditing tools to RPC nodes, ensuring that developers have comprehensive support when building applications.
We regularly hold various hackathons to encourage developers to explore and develop innovative applications that are easy to use and have wide applications in the fields of DeFi, games, and privacy. These activities not only promote technological innovation, but also enhance community cohesion.
Overall, Scroll’s ecosystem development is fully supporting the growth of developers and the ecosystem by providing ecosystem grants, upskilling opportunities, and strategic partnerships.
6. You just mentioned "Level Up". It is understood that this is a platform that Scroll has just launched not long ago. Can you briefly introduce to us what it does specifically? What is the core goal of building this platform?
Marcus: Continuing with the topic just now, Scroll has been committed to building a developer ecosystem. In response to the needs of developers, the Level Up project is first a learning platform. We will develop some technical courses on the platform, from simple introductory courses to advanced courses with a certain depth, covering everything from Solidity to zk-related courses that may be involved in the future.
The main purpose of Level Up is to contribute to the Ethereum or Web3 ecosystem. Developers are the most important part of the Web3 ecosystem, and our goal is to help developers grow throughout the entire process. From beginners to experienced developers, everyone can find the right part for themselves on the Level Up platform. I hope that Level Up can always accompany developers to grow and become their loyal partner in the Web3 world.
On the other hand, we also cooperate with major Ethereum hackathons to hold workshops to help developers better integrate into the ecosystem. At the same time, Level Up has also set up a Grants project, so you can pay more attention to it.
7. Can you share Scroll’s latest achievements or milestones (TVL, Unique Address, etc.)? What exciting development plans are there in the future?
Marcus: Scroll has achieved many important achievements and milestones since it was launched on the mainnet. First of all, from a technical perspective, we launched the Scroll mainnet for the first time on October 18, 2023, followed by the first protocol upgrade. Significantly reduces user costs for bridging funds from Ethereum to Scroll, with cross-chain costs reduced by up to 50%.
Next up is the Bernoulli upgrade, which takes place on April 29, 2024. It significantly reduces L1 transaction costs by nearly 10x and also supports SHA2-256 precompilation by introducing blob data for EIP-4844 for L1 data availability. Then there is the Curie upgrade, which introduces Data Availability (DA) compression to reduce Layer 1 DA size and its associated Gas fees, also includes EIP-1559 and EIP-2930 transaction types, and introduces a basic fee model to stabilize Scroll's gas cost.
On the ecological front, we have also made significant progress. Since the launch of our main network, we have supported more than 300 projects, including Ethereum blue-chip projects such as AAVE and Compound, as well as native projects such as Ambient, Nuri, and Pencil. We have made tangible contributions to expanding the Ethereum ecosystem.
Currently, Scroll’s total locked value (TVL) has exceeded $1 billion, with approximately 4.5 million unique addresses. In addition, our active wallet addresses have reached 380,000, and the weekly transaction volume is approximately 2,222,181. More detailed data can be viewed on Dune.
Looking ahead, we have many exciting development plans. For example, we plan to carry out the Darwin upgrade in the next year, which includes gas and compressor upgrades. We will also advance Scroll Stacks and implement a decentralized sequencer to improve the decentralization and security of the system.
8. What activities or plans does Scroll have in the near future that ordinary users can participate in? What suggestions do you have for user interaction?
Marcus: Scroll currently has many activities at both the user and developer levels. For ordinary users, we are currently conducting Scroll Session activities, which are currently in the first phase. Users can visit https://scroll.io/sessions at any time to participate in our activities. These activities involve Scroll's points system, and participating in Scroll Session projects also provides great incentives. Everyone is welcome to actively participate.
Recently, we have also just released Scroll Canvas, a platform for collecting and displaying your credentials, badges, and achievements on the Scroll chain. When users interact with different Scroll projects and collect badges, their stories will unfold on the Scroll Canvas. We believe that the on-chain space should not only be the world of tokens, but also a part of users' social life.
At the developer level, Scroll has always been committed to serving developers and contributing to the Ethereum community. We will always support Ethereum official events and hackathons. The Level Up project combines education, hackathons, and developer incentives, and we hope everyone will continue to pay attention (Level Up).
In addition, Scroll recently teamed up with HackQuest to co-organize the Scroll City Cup Online Minihackathon, with the first stop in Hangzhou. The winning online teams will have the opportunity to be invited to give offline presentations.
9. What do you think about the position and prospects of zkEVM L2 solutions in the entire blockchain ecosystem? What are the core advantages of Scroll?
Marcus: We believe that zkEVM L2 solutions play a vital role in the entire blockchain ecosystem. zk-Rollup is recognized as the best scaling solution for Ethereum. Not only is it as secure as Ethereum Layer 1, but it also has the shortest final confirmation time compared to all other Layer 2 solutions. This makes zkEVM L2 solutions an ideal choice for efficient and secure scaling.
Scroll demonstrates significant advantages in zkEVM L2 solutions. First of all, we have the fastest block generation time and the shortest final confirmation time, which ensures that users and developers can enjoy a smooth and efficient interactive experience. Secondly, Scroll is extremely compatible, ensuring seamless integration with the existing Ethereum ecosystem. This makes it easier for developers to migrate and deploy their applications.
The most important point is security. Since Scroll was launched on the mainnet, there has been no security issues. We have conducted multiple audits to ensure the robustness and reliability of the system. The current frequency of interaction and total value locked (TVL) also verify this. The trust of users and developers in Scroll continues to increase, which further promotes the development of our ecosystem.
These core advantages enable Scroll to occupy an important position in the entire blockchain ecosystem and lay a solid foundation for future development.
10. The last question is, what do you think about the development status of Crypto projects with Chinese backgrounds in the industry? What suggestions do you have for Builders, especially Chinese Builders?
Marcus: From the perspective of our ecosystem, the most important thing is the quality and innovation of the projects and the value they bring to the entire ecosystem. The background of the team is also important, but we are not concerned about the region or nationality, but the team's capabilities, past experience, and their judgment and vision of the product and industry.
Then, it can't be considered as advice, nor is it advice for a specific type of Builders, but some personal thoughts that apply to all developers. In the current period of vigorous development, Web3 is still just a small industry in the world. We should abandon some inherent prejudices, put aside the noise, and focus on the development of products and industries. I think we should stick to the direction of doing a good job in the project down to earth and actively innovating.
No matter where you come from, as long as you have good ideas and execution, you can find your place in this industry. I hope all developers, especially those with Chinese backgrounds, can focus on technology and products, continue to innovate, and contribute to the future of Web3.
