Developers roll out zkSync on testnet to scale Ethereum

The Matter Labs team rolled out zkSync 2.0 on the Ethereum testnet as the first EVM-compatible Layer-2 solution built on ZK Rollup.

ZK Rollups capable of general computation are often considered key to Ethereum’s endgame, but a year ago, leading researchers believed we were many years away.

Today, we’re launching the first EVM-compatible ZK Rollup on public testnet.https://t.co/oecCcn5pIY

— zkSync (@zksync) February 22, 2022

According to the statement, the system will enable creating and deploying decentralized applications in a scalable environment with low fees, fully compatible with Ethereum’s native programming language—Solidity.

“Many predicted that a ZK Rollup solution capable of general computation would be a key component in the blockchain’s final scalability stage, but a year ago many of the industry’s leading minds believed it was still far off,” noted Matter Labs.

The team also described the infrastructure being built to support developers’ efforts to use zkSync 2.0:

• payment providers Banxa, Ramp Network, UTORG and MoonPay, as well as exchanges Crypto.com, Bybit, Huobi, Blockchain.com, OKEx and Ripio, will provide fiat-to-crypto gateways;
• cross-chain bridges from Celer, Connext, ZigZag, Orbiter, DAI Wormhole, Composable, Hop Exchange, LeyZero, PolyNetwork, deBridge and Nomad will enable fast and inexpensive token transfers between zkSync 2.0 and other L1 and L2 protocols;
• Chainlink will provide oracle services for use in applications;
• The Graph Protocol and Covalent will index zkSync 2.0 to make the blockchain more accessible to users and developers;
• Users will be able to perform transactions and manage assets on zkSync 2.0 using most Ethereum wallets, including MetaMask, Argent, Numio, 1inch Wallet, MyKey and imToken.

BitDAO, the decentralised organisation, has also allocated $200 million to support zkSync ecosystem projects.

“The current version of zkSync 2.0 meets the needs of most Ethereum applications, but as additional options are planned to be added in the near future, the solution will give developers opportunities for experimentation that are not yet available.”

As noted in an earlier Ethereum development roadmap, Vitalik Buterin identified the ZK-Rollups technology as a central element for scaling the network.

He also proposed additional solutions to reduce transaction costs when using ZK-Rollups.