The Quest for Speed: How Polygon’s ZK Rollups Will Revolutionize the Chain

Robert Stone

Polygon has become a unique solution to Ethereum’s scalability issues. One of Polygon’s most significant highlights, reinforcing its potential to solve scalability problems, is its zero-knowledge rollups. Since the zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) launch, Polygon’s ZK rollups have been gaining attention in the crypto domain.

Polygon is a prominent web3 infrastructure with some of the world’s biggest companies, including Reddit, Meta, and Stripe, using its diverse functionalities.

Polygon launched its Polygon zkEVM scaling solution in July 2022 with features similar to Ethereum, including wallets, smart contracts, and developer tools. The zkEVM is an equivalent of the Ethereum network but with better security through zeroknowledge proofs.

ZK rollups are critical for drawing out Ethereum transactions from the main chain to ensure scalability. ZkEVM powers ZK rollups in the Polygon network. Polygon has a number of ZK Rollups in its product suites, such as Polygon Zero, Polygon Miden, and Polygon Hermez. This post provides a detailed introduction to ZK rollups available on Polygon, reflecting on their importance. On Polygon, you can also learn how zkEVM and ZK rollups work together.

The Ethereum platform offers an ideal opportunity for developing decentralized apps through smart contract programmability. As a result, decentralized finance (DeFi) applications such as decentralized exchanges, liquidity pools, and lending/ borrowing platforms have gained momentum. Ethereum, however, could not handle the traffic of users developing their DeFi applications on the platform.

The growing demand for developing dApps on Ethereum has increased the burden of scalability, leading to network congestion, availability problems, and higher transaction costs. As Ethereum shifts towards the Proof of Stake protocol, layer 2 blockchain solutions have evolved as a prominent answer for scalability problems on the Ethereum blockchain. Polygon or MATIC is one of the most effective layer 2 scalability solutions, with the facility of partnerships for expanding the Ethereum ecosystem.

The rollups on Polygon are similar to zero-knowledge rollups. ZK Rollups are an effective scaling solution that combines different off-chain transactions into one on-chain transaction. Polygon’s ZK rollup suite eliminates the need to verify individual transactions through miners on the Ethereum mainnet. In contrast, Polygon MATIC ZK rollups ensure verification through a validity proof, also referred to as zero-knowledge proof, with each rollup. This ensures that Ethereum can verify the authenticity of all transactions in the rollup, enabling users to ensure the seamless movement of funds and assets between Ethereum and the rollup.

ZK rollups are more effective than optimistic rollups, which have a waiting period for confirming transactions. This can reduce the efficiency of dApps and value for users.

Polygon MATIC ZK Rollups Suite - List of Polygon ZK Rollups

Polygon’s ZK rollups provide a zero-knowledge proof with a batch of transactions, which helps verify all transactions’ validity. This innovative technology has enabled Polygon to increase its commitment to the scalability of Ethereum. Polygon has launched four unique products in its scalability stacks: Zero, Hermez, Miden, and Nightfall. Let us take a closer look at each of these products.

Polygon Zero

When asked if Polygon uses ZK rollups, the obvious answer would be Polygon Zero. This solution has been specifically designed to reduce the costs associated with creating validity proofs for transactions in a batch. However, the functionalities of ZK rollups are limited due to certain factors, such as the time-intensive and costly process of proof generation.

To overcome these challenges, Polygon Zero employs “recursive proofs,” which offer better speed compared to existing proof-generation systems. Polygon uses the Plonky2 proving mechanism, which was developed by the team behind the Mir Protocol. The team had previously explored the use of zeroknowledge recursive proofs in dApp scalability and continued their experiments resulting in the arrival of Plonky2 in January 2022 after being acquired by Polygon.

Using ZK rollups in Polygon reflects the efficiency of recursive proofs with Polygon Zero. Unlike existing projects that generate proofs for a specific batch of transactions, Polygon Zero generates proofs for each transaction simultaneously. This approach can also combine different transaction proofs in a single proof on the Ethereum network, reducing the effort required to generate credible validity proofs for transaction rollups. Polygon Zero is compatible with EVM and can batch around 3000 transactions for each block.

Polygon Hermez

Polygon Hermez is another layer 2 scaling solution that enables users to send and receive transactions at a low cost. It employs a ZK rollupbased system and has the ability to process up to 2000 transactions per second. With Hermez, Polygon aims to improve the efficiency of token transfers, allowing users to save on gas fees.

Polygon Miden

Polygon Miden is a unique scaling solution that combines a ZK rollup-based system with optimistic rollups. The platform has been designed to offer high scalability and interoperability, making it possible for users to transfer assets between different networks. Miden also supports smart contract execution, making it a versatile developer solution.

Polygon Nightfall

Polygon Nightfall is an enterprise-grade privacy solution built on ZK rollups that enable businesses to carry out private transactions. It employs a range of privacy-enhancing techniques, such as confidential transactions, stealth addresses, and more. Nightfall also offers features such as atomic swaps, enabling fast and secure trades between different assets.

In conclusion, Polygon’s ZK rollups suite comprises a range of products designed to improve the scalability and efficiency of the Ethereum network. From Polygon Zero’s recursive proof mechanism to Hermez’s high-speed transaction processing, each solution offers a unique set of benefits for users. With the use of ZK rollups, Polygon is helping to make Ethereum a more scalable and versatile platform for decentralized applications.

Exploring the Advantages of Polygon ZK Rollups As web3 developers continue to search for more efficient and faster solutions for building their applications while ensuring compatibility with Ethereum, Polygon ZK rollups have emerged as a promising option.

Polygon ZK Rollups Suite

First and foremost, let’s understand what Polygon ZK rollups are. Polygon offers a zero-knowledge rollup suite, which includes several products such as Polygon Zero, Miden, Nightfall, and Hermez. These rollups provide additional value advantages compared to traditional ZK rollups.

Speed and Cost Efficiency, The main challenge with traditional ZK rollups, such as zkSync or StarkNet, is the computational costs associated with creating validity proofs. Ineffective proof generation mechanisms can offset the advantages of ZK rollups. However, Polygon ZK rollups have a solution to this problem. They can effectively reduce the processing costs required for proof generation by leveraging recursive zeroknowledge proofs, leading to faster transactions. Additionally, the stack of Polygon ZK rollups has been designed to reduce transaction costs associated with the use of layer 2 blockchains.

It does not require expensive or time-intensive validityproof generation mechanisms, allowing anyone to participate in the Polygon ecosystem while safeguarding security through zero-knowledge proofs. EVMCompatibility and Security

Polygon ZK rollups offer another significant advantage in their EVM compatibility. The introduction of zkEVM, a zero-knowledge EVM implementation, allows for EVM functionalities for ZK rollups Polygon offers in its product suite. This compatibility gives Polygon zero-knowledge rollups a competitive edge over other ZK rollups, which lack EVM compatibility with Ethereum. Furthermore, Polygon’s ZK rollups safeguard security through zero-knowledge proofs.

Polygon ZK rollups offer distinct solutions to the challenges faced by traditional ZK rollups. The suite of products provided by Polygon allows for faster transactions, cost efficiency, EVM compatibility, and enhanced security. Web3 developers can benefit significantly from Polygon’s zero-knowledge rollups and create efficient and faster applications while ensuring compatibility with Ethereum.