zkEVM is an extremely hot phrase recently as it is continuously shared, discussed and predicted by the large community of the crypto market. Even the largest KOLs in the crypto market have started talking about zk technology, which is the core technology of the zkEVM platform, causing many coins that are researching and developing in this field such as LRC, Mina,… to have a difference. grow strongly.
But each person needs to have a correct perspective on zk technology in general and zkEVM in particular so that we can take advantage of that knowledge to grasp trends and thereby make profits from the market. We are still just people chasing the market.
This article of mine will include some of the following main ideas:
- Overview of zkEVM
- zkEVM platforms are popular in the crypto market today
- zkEVM platforms build ecosystems
- Opportunities with zkEVM platforms
Overview of zkEVM
What is zkEVM? What are the effects of zkEVM?
zkEVM is an Ethereum virtual machine or EVM but specifically for Layer 2 solutions using zkRollup technology. With zkEVM, projects on the Ethereum blockchain or EVM blockchains others like BNB Chain, Polygon POS, Arbitrum, Optimism, Aurora, Avalanche C-Chain, Fantom,… can be easily extended to zkRollup platforms.
In the Layer 2 solution set, we have the most prominent and popular solution today, Rollup. In Rollup we divide into 2 types:
- Optimistic Rollup with some famous names such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Boba Network, Metis,… the Optimistic Rollup platforms themselves are already compatible with EVM.
- zkRollup has a few names like StarkNet, zkSync, Scroll, Hermez, Taiko,… but the zkRollup platforms themselves are not compatible with EVM as each platform uses a separate programming language like StarkNet uses Cairo , zkSync uses zinc,….
The biggest weakness of zkRollup platforms is EVM incompatibility, which is why zkSync is the flagship in zkEVM development. However, in the crypto market we also have 2 clear development directions: prominent EVM representatives such as BNB Chain, Polygon POS, Fantom, Celo, Aurora,… and non-EVM prominent representatives such as StarkNet , Solana, Cardano,…
So zkEVM is simply a different name for EVM specifically for zkRollup platforms. In terms of core value and usage value, zkEVM is quite similar to other EVMs on the market.
Popular zkEVM Platforms in the Crypto Market Today
zkSync – the first platform to introduce zkEVM
ZkSync released the zkSync 2.0 public testnet in February 2022, but it was not until July that zkSync officially announced the roadmap for zkEVM after more than 1 year of research and development. Even though they promised a lot about being on track to launch mainnet in Q4/2022, the project still missed the deadline as is their usual habit.
At the moment we are in the final stage of Baby Alpha and this stage is only for zkSync to use and in the next stages we will have:
- Baby Alpha: For ZkSync itself for testing.
- Fair Onboarding Alpha: Is a stage for projects on ZkSync to experience on this platform.
- Full Launch Alpha: This is the stage where everyone in the community and the whole project can participate in the experience on ZkSync.
- Improved Developer & User Experience: This is the period when zkSync’s development team will focus on improving the experience for both developers and users on their network.
At the present time, we are very close to the final stage of zkEVM on zkSync, Full Launch Alpha, when we can participate in the project experience.
In the future, zkSync’s zkEVM will also be open source like Polygon is implementing, but it only provides EVM compatibility at the language level. zkSync’s zkEVM will support popular programming languages on Ethereum such as Sodility and Vyber, and the project promises to introduce a dynamic fee model for developers on zkSync.
Currently, there have been many projects announced or officially deployed on zkSync such as Uniswap, AAVE, Curve Finance, Chainlink, SushiSwap,… all the leading DeFi are expected to release their versions on the platform. this rock. It is expected that the zkSync ecosystem will be extremely vibrant in the near future.
Scroll – The project is still in the start-up phase
Scroll has officially launched Pre-Alpha Testnet since August 2022 with some quite outstanding numbers like this:
- There have been more than 397K new addresses established on the testnet network.
- There have been more than 6,300 smart contracts launched.
- There are over 600 tokens deployed on the network
- On average there are about 32K transactions per day.
Besides, there have been many projects deployed on Scroll including some names such as Uniswap, Lens Protocol, The Graph, Safe, Multichain, Hop Protocol and Orbiter Finance.
Currently, Scroll has not announced its future development roadmap, but with a lot of support from prominent DeFi projects like Uniswap, a bright future is waiting for Scroll ahead.
Taiko – zkEVM is extremely loved by Vitalik Buterin
Taiko is a zkRollup platform that has emerged recently when it claims to be the zkEVM with the highest compatibility level in the crypto market. Taiko itself also classifies zkEVMs into four different types including Type 1, Type 2, Type 2.5, Type 3 and Type 4.
According to this platform, the main advantage of zkEVM type 1 is that you can experience it comfortably without having to pay any fees. All the lines of code above on Ethereum you can transfer to Taiko without having to adjust or refine the smallest elements. Once the project moves from Ethereum to Taiko, it is possible to switch to L1 transfers or equivalent EVMs.
Some important updates of Taiko in Q4/2022
In terms of Research and Development, Taiko has had many updates and network upgrades. Besides, the most important event is that Taiko launched Alpha – 1 Public Testnet on December 28, 2022. Users can participate in the testnet on the network and receive POAPs representing user experience. This testnet program is also coming to an end and the Alpha – 2 Public Testnet project will soon be launched in the near future.
In general terms, Taiko does not have a clear and detailed development roadmap like zkSync, but it is expected that there will still be updated articles every quarter on product development, community and currently Taiko is also open source. to the same community as Scroll or Polygon Hermez.
Polygon Hermez – Polygon quietly develops zkEVM
In July 2022, following zkSync, Polygon also announced zkEVM at the EthCC event and soon after, the project also announced the open source code of zkEVM for all the community to follow. By October of the same year, Polygon officially launched their first zkEVM form through the Polygon zkEVM Public Testnet program similar to Scroll or Taiko.
Some updates of the Polygon zkEVM Public Testnet program
As of December 2022, there have been many positive numbers with the Polygon zkEVM Public Testnet program such as more than 10,000 new addresses established with a total of nearly 22,000 transactions and many other parameters.
However, up to now, there are two things that are unclear with Polygon’s zkEVM:
- The development path until reaching Mainet. In this regard, Polygon zkEVM is somewhat similar to Scroll and Taiko. Besides, the project has not announced updates and developments of zkEVM in Q4/2022.
- Currently, it is unclear what proof Polygon’s zkEVM will use to solve transaction-related problems such as SNARK, STARK or Plonky 2.
Warp – Hardly considered a zkEVM
Warp is considered more of a tool than a zkEVM. This is a product developed by StarkWare – the company was valued at $8B in the latest capital raising round.
Warp is used by StarkWare as a “google translate” to help developers translate from Sodility to Cairo, but its security and accuracy have not been tested. It can be said that among all zkRollup platforms, only StarkNet is oriented towards non-EVM development, which means they will focus on their own programming language, Cairo.
zkEVM Platforms Build Ecosystems
Most EVMs in particular and zkEVMs in general during the process of building an ecosystem will include 2 main elements:
- Relationships with top DeFi players on Ethereum. That is how to pull Uniswap, Curve Finance, AAVE,… to your platform because these platforms have a very large number of users and fans when these platforms come to a zkEVM. There will definitely be users following and there will be more users if there are more incentives. Some impressive successful cases such as Avalanche C Chain, Optimism, Polygon,…
- Attracting good developers to your ecosystem can be through grants, hackathons online, offline, global,… Besides, you must build an open environment and full of tools for developers. .
Minh is quite confident that the first zkEVM platform that is implemented methodically will be the most successful platform and the following zkEVM platforms will share the remaining pie. Similar to the current Optimistic Rollup, Arbitrum is leading, right behind is Optimism and further away is Boba Network or Metis.
Opportunities With zkEVM Platforms
Although zkEVM projects are just getting started, we can already see some opportunities for these platforms such as:
- Retroactive: It can be said that this is the clearest opportunity that everyone can see as zkEVM platforms often call for a relatively large amount of capital besides the projects are in the testnet process. I think everyone should participate in the testnet experience to have a chance to receive retroactivity from the project.
- Job: These are mostly new projects so crypto job opportunities for users and investors are many. Everyone can join the project’s discord to support and can receive the MOD role in the future. It is possible that the project will have rewards for those who contribute to the development of the project early. Besides, there are many jobs with higher requirements such as Ambassador, Community Manager,… Currently, there is a Taiko project that is opening a form so everyone can join to become an Ambassador.
- Invest: It can be seen that the opportunity to buy & hold at the present time is not much. However, in each ecosystem, especially zkSync and StarkNet, the first pieces of the DeFi puzzle have begun to form, but there have not been too many innovations. But we can completely observe early to recognize signs of cash flow and fomo from the market, thereby determining the most optimal exit and entry points.
People can search for hidden gems on the StarkNet ecosystem in the article: Summary of Potential Projects on the StarkNet Ecosystem.
Some of the testnets you should join include the Opportunity to Receive Huge Airdrops When Joining the Taiko Layer 2 Testnet and Join the Testnet to find airdrop opportunities with Scroll.
From my perspective, at the present time, the zkEVM platforms really do not have anything to attract cash flow from the general market, the projects are not mainnet yet, the projects are still in the process of development and upgrading, so The growth of these projects is completely unsustainable. And with trends that are not sustainable, I will not participate at this time.
Only when the project has mainnet and the pieces of the DeFi or NFT puzzle are gradually formed and the infrastructure pieces are complete, then an ecosystem can receive and store cash flow.
