Union Square Ventures backs Ethereum layer-2 solution zkSync

The Matter Labs startup, behind zkSync, a layer-2 solution built on zkRollup technology, has closed a Series A funding round led by Union Square Ventures.

1/ Happy to announce an ecosystem investment round to make @zksync Ethereum’s main payment backbone — and to turn into an EVM-compatible ZK rollup.https://t.co/EECFnHPXk9

— zkSync (@zksync) March 1, 2021

Coinbase, the crypto exchange, DeFi projects Aave, Balancer and Curve Finance joined the round. The analytics service CoinGecko, as well as venture firms Placeholder, 1kx and Dragonfly Capital joined the round. The amount raised by Matter Labs was not disclosed.

“We decided to limit participation primarily to strategic partners in order to preserve the community’s dominant share in the future zkSync network,” said representatives of the startup.

In June 2020, Matter Labs launched on the Ethereum blockchain a beta version of zkSync with a throughput of 2,000 transactions per second and an average fee of $0.01.

The main purpose of zkSync is to transfer ERC20 tokens. ZkRollup is a hybrid scaling approach that combines first- and second-layer networks via smart contracts, as well as zero-knowledge proof-based solutions.

In September, the stablecoin issuer Tether added support for zkRollup. In December, Messari analysts said that second-layer solutions based on Rollups will make Ethereum out of reach for competitors.

Andreessen Horowitz led the Series A round for the Optimism project at $25 million. The team is behind the Ethereum layer-2 solution L2 Optimistic Ethereum (OΞ).

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