nd Ethereum has been an unprecedented leader in terms of blockchain technology. As Web3 technology matures, more blockchain platforms are launched to address the issues of Ethereum. Polygon is emerging as one of the top blockchain solutions that provide a good alternative to Ethereum. Scalability is one of the major issues with the Ethereum blockchain, and Polygon uses Zero-Knowledge rollups (ZK rollups) to launch ZK Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM). It was launched in July 2022 as the first scaling solution.
zkEVM presents as an Ethereum network equivalent using zero-knowledge proofs for increased security. It is the main platform to power ZK rollups on the Polygon blockchain network. ZK rollups are essential to draw Ethereum transactions from the main chain and provide blockchain applications scalability. Some popular ZK rollups are Polygon Zero, Polygon Miden, and Polygon Hermez.
What Causes Scalability Issues On The Ethereum Blockchain?
Ethereum, with its contract programmability feature, supports the development of decentralized apps called dApps. It resulted in an explosion of decentralized finance DeFi apps, including liquidity pools, decentralized exchanges, and lending platforms. The demand for learning Ethereum increased as DeFi developers used Ethereum for app development. This led to a tremendous increase in user traffic, which caused lagging on Ethereum.
Developers use Ethereum as a platform for various web3 projects, including DeFi, NFTs, and more. This increased burden results in scalability issues and network congestion. As a result, transaction costs increase due to the demand for availability.
Ethereum now supports Proof of Stake protocol to address the scalability issues. However, the layer 2 blockchain solutions such as Polygon provide an excellent development platform alternative to Ethereum. The MATIC ZK rollups of the Polygon blockchain are increasingly used to create applications for leading brands such as Disney, Starbucks, Adobe, Meta, and Adidas. So, developers are now more interested in getting Polygon certification to leverage the benefits of the blockchain.
What are Polygon ZK Rollups?
ZK Rollups increase scalability by combining multiple off-chain transactions into a single on-chain transaction. With the ZK rollup suite, developers need not verify multiple individual transactions on the Ethereum mainnet through miners. They only need to deal with a single transaction.
Polygon Matic ZK rollup uses zero-knowledge proof for verification with each rollup. The validity proofs ensure that the Ethereum blockchain can verify all transactions associated with the rollup. This empowers users to move funds and assets between rollup and Ethereum seamlessly.
ZK rollups are much more effective than optimistic rollups. However, ZK rollups don’t have a waiting period like optimistic rollups. So, ZK rollups help improve the value and efficiency of dApps for developers and users.
Benefits of Polygon ZK Rollups
Polygon ZK rollups ensure the easy adaptability of Polygon as a layer 2 blockchain. As it is inherently EVM compatible, it can interact more effectively with the layer 1 blockchain. Also, the zero-knowledge proofs provide significant advantages to web3 projects.
- Increased processing speed – Polygon ZK rollups use recursive zero-knowledge proofs for multiple transactions within a block. It assures greater speed compared to traditional ZK rollups.
- Reduced transaction costs – As the transactions are combined into batches and relayed to the Ethereum network as a single transaction, Polygon ZK rollups significantly reduce gas fees and transaction costs.
- Native EVM compatibility – Polygon layer 2 blockchain is better than other layer 2 protocols mainly because zkEVM provides native EVM implementation. It adds improvements to the existing capabilities of Ethereum.
- Improved security – The zero-knowledge proofs combined with crypto-enabled transactions improve the security of validated transactions. It also extends the security properties of the Ethereum blockchain.
- Easy to adapt to programming languages – The zkEVM supports smart contract programming languages such as Solidity. Developers can switch nodes to migrate their dApps quickly. Using the Polygon ZK rollups, they can also create other web3 projects, such as play-to-earn games, NFTs, etc.
- Frictionless transactions – The zero-knowledge proofs provide immediate validation of rollup transactions on the main chain. As a result, end users can easily move funds between the Ethereum blockchain and the layer 2 rollup blockchain without delay. Also, there is no waiting period, which is common in optimistic rollups.
What Is Included In The Polygon Matic ZK Rollups Suite?
Polygon ZK rollups verify the batch of transactions using zero-knowledge proof. This is useful in ensuring that all the transactions in the batch are valid, thus improving the scalability of Ethereum. This layer 2 blockchain network has launched different products in the scalability stacks.
Polygon Zero
Polygon Zero is the most trusted ZK rollup solution that validates proofs of multiple transactions in a batch using recursive proofs. It reduces processing costs and increases processing speed. Plonky2 proving mechanism for scalable proofs ensures that simultaneous proofs are generated for each transaction. With this approach, multiple transaction proofs are combined into a single proof. It also reduces the effort to generate credible validity proofs. Polygon allows combining about 300 transactions per batch with assured EVM compatibility.
Polygon Hermez
The Polygon Hermez rollup is the only decentralized ZK rollup that works over the Ethereum blockchain network. It uses decentralized projects’ latest Proof of Efficiency (PoE) consensus mechanism. The sequencers combine transactions into batches, and aggregators generate ZK proofs for transaction batches. The PoE system allows any user to become a sequencer or aggregator. The crypto-economic incentives of Polygon Hermez improve security by protecting against malicious attacks. The Hermez protocol combines 2000 transactions in a batch and uses Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge (SNARK) proofs for validating transactions. zkEVM facilitates EVM for the Hermez protocol as well.
Polygon Miden
Polygon Miden ZK rollup supports Scalable Transparent Argument of Knowledge (STARK)-proof verification and provides EVM compatibility. STARK is different from SNARK because it is useful against quantum-computing attacks. STARK doesn’t rely on a setup procedure, but they are more expensive as they need larger proofs. Being EVM compatible, Polygon Miden can automatically support Solidity smart contracts. Miden Assembly supports codes written in Solidity or Viper. The Miden protocol can combine 5000 transactions in one block and produce new blocks every five seconds. The transaction throughput is 1000 transactions per second.
Polygon Nightfall
Polygon Nightfall is a business-grade ZK rollup solution that facilitates private transactions. It leverages the benefits of zero-knowledge cryptography and optimistic rollups. A prevents unauthorized intervention due to the advanced security protocols. It is best suited for large-scale companies that require highly scalable and permission-based blockchain transactions. The Polygon Nightfall ZK rollup has its own smart contract solution called Nightfall contracts that governs layer 2 chains. The block proposers are ZK rollup nodes that validate transactions and roll them into batches. They also submit the transaction batches to the layer 1 blockchain. Challengers ensure security with the generation of fraud proofs. They submit proofs on-chain to check for invalid blocks. Liquidity providers monitor the layer 2 chain to manage Ethereum withdrawals.
If you are looking for the right time to get Polygon training, you should not wait any longer. Many web3 developers are already working on Polygon projects powered by zkEVM. Web3 project developers widely adapt the Polygon Matic ZK rollups suite as it provides scalable, cost-effective, and fast solutions to create dApps. Moreover, Polygon is also planning on investing $1 billion in zero-knowledge technology to upgrade its performance further.
If you are looking for Polygon certification , then check out Blockchain Council’s website. Blockchain Council offers some of the best AI certification programs along with polygon course. These courses are extensively designed according to the growing industry demands and are offered at a pocket-friendly price.
