Podcast Summary
Ethereum's scalability efforts advance with zksync rollup: MATTER Labs' zksync, a ZK EVM compatible rollup, is being tested on a testnet, bringing Ethereum closer to affordable transactions. Opolis offers incentives for DAO employment transition.
Ethereum's scalability efforts have taken a significant step forward with the development of a ZK EVM compatible rollup, zksync, by MATTER Labs. This technology, which was once thought to be years away, is now being tested on a testnet, bringing Ethereum closer to achieving Vitalik's vision of making transactions cost only 5 cents. Alex, the CEO of MATTER Labs, joins the podcast to discuss the current state of this technology, what's left in the roadmap, and when users can expect to use it. Additionally, the team's Ukrainian background and crypto's potential role in Ukraine are also discussed. In other news, Opolis, a DAO that helps people work for other DAOs, is offering a bonus of 1,000 work tokens and 1,000 Bankless DAO tokens to those who sign up before May 1st, making the transition into web 3 employment easier. Overall, 2021 is a proof year for Ethereum's scalability approach, and these developments are significant steps towards making Ethereum more accessible and affordable for users.
Exploring DeFi and NFTs with Decentralized Solutions: The importance of decentralization, security, and performance in the DeFi and NFT space is emphasized, with sponsors like Slingshot, Brave Browser, and Arbitrum providing solutions for better trading experiences, privacy, and scalability. Matter Labs and their zkSync rollup project are highlighted for their uncompromising open source values.
During this episode of Bankless, the hosts discussed various topics related to the decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) space, highlighting the importance of decentralization, security, and performance. They introduced sponsors like Slingshot, Brave Browser, and Arbitrum, which aim to provide better trading experiences, privacy, and scalability in the Web 3.0 world. Alex Glikovsky, co-founder of Matter Labs, was also featured, discussing the team's uncompromising approach to open source values and their pioneering zkSync rollup project on the Ethereum network. Throughout the conversation, the hosts emphasized the need for security, especially in light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, where many team members have had to evacuate. Overall, the episode underscored the importance of decentralized solutions and the continuous innovation in the blockchain space.
Ethereum team surprises crypto community with early release of zk EVM roll up on testnet: Ethereum team discovered shortcuts to overcome inefficiencies of zk proofs, delivering a fully-fledged, expressive zk EVM roll up on testnet sooner than expected, crucial for maintaining composability in DeFi and ensuring scalability in Ethereum.
The Ethereum team surprised the crypto community by releasing an EVM-compatible zk roll up on testnet, much earlier than expected. This development was considered a significant achievement, as many experts believed it would take years to overcome the inefficiencies of zero-knowledge proofs for general computation in creating a fully-fledged, expressive zk EVM roll up with composability. The Ethereum team, however, discovered shortcuts to compensate for the huge overhead and combined the flexible and rigid parts to deliver the technology more quickly. This breakthrough is crucial because composability is what makes DeFi powerful, and ensuring it remains in a zk EVM and on a zk roll up is a challenging task. Additionally, Alex, who was born in Ukraine, shared his personal experiences and values alignment with the crypto and decentralization space. The discussion also touched upon recent events and news from a technology perspective, including the release of the zk EVM on testnet and its implications for the future of scalability in Ethereum.
Separating Rigid and Flexible Components in zk EVM: The zk EVM architecture separates optimized rigid components from flexible ones, allowing for efficient optimization and flexibility in executing arbitrary programs.
The zk EVM architecture separates rigid, optimized components from flexible ones, much like a computer's CPU and specialized microchips. This design allows for efficient optimization of the rigid components while maintaining the flexibility to execute arbitrary programs. The zk EVM's design structure, including the use of recursive Snarks and the eventual shift towards transparent designs, is expected to remain the same, but there will be room for developers to use different languages and compilers. The zkSync breakthrough, which involves a general approach to efficient zero-knowledge rollups, was independently discovered by multiple teams, including the zkSync team, and builds on the work of earlier innovators.
First Ethereum-compatible zk rollup, zk EVM, on Ethereum's testnet: The zkSync 2.0 testnet allows deploying and interacting with Solidity smart contracts using web 3 API, similar to other scaling solutions but based on ZKVM technology. Public testing aims to demonstrate compatibility with existing codebase with minimal modifications.
The zkSync 2.0 public testnet release marks the arrival of the first Ethereum-compatible zk rollup, zk EVM, on Ethereum's testnet. This new technology, which allows deploying and interacting with Solidity smart contracts using web 3 API, is similar to other scaling solutions but is based on ZKVM technology. The testnet is now open to the public, and the goal is to show that developers can reuse their existing codebase without major modifications. The degree of modification required depends on what the program is using, with most generic code likely not needing any changes. However, certain cryptographic primitives, like pairings and mod mod operations, aren't supported yet, and ETH sending and receiving need to be wrapped as ERC 20 tokens. Compared to StarkWare, the degree of modification required is less, as most Ethereum primitives are supported, and the unsupported features are clearly documented. The mainnet release is planned for when testing shows maturity and the full specification is implemented.
Experience Ethereum with Lower Gas Fees using zkSync: ZkSync, a Layer 2 scaling solution, offers Ethereum Mainnet's user experience but with significantly lower gas fees through zk-rollups technology and wallet reuse.
ZkSync is a Layer 2 scaling solution that aims to provide the same user experience as Ethereum Mainnet but with significantly lower gas fees. It achieves this by using zk-rollups technology and allowing users to reuse their Ethereum wallets. This means that popular DeFi applications, such as Aave, Compound, Maker, and Uniswap, could potentially be used with the same interface on zkSync as they are on Ethereum Mainnet, but with the added benefit of much lower gas fees. Argent, a wallet wrapper, is an example of a project already integrating with zkSync and providing a better user experience due to the advantages of account abstraction and cheaper transaction costs. However, it's important to note that while the user interface remains the same, some functionalities may improve on zkSync compared to Ethereum Mainnet.
Implementation of zk EVM and optimistic rollups in Ethereum ecosystem: Users can pay gas fees in any token, unlocking new possibilities for dApps and DeFi. The transition to zkSync is a low-touch process, but some tooling adjustments are necessary. Ultimately, the goal is to improve user experience and preserve decentralization in the zk EVM ecosystem.
The implementation of the zk EVM and optimistic rollups in the Ethereum ecosystem will enable users to pay gas fees in any token they transact with, unlocking new possibilities for dApps and the DeFi space. This is expected to usher in a new era of user experience for DeFi, which has been missing since its inception. The transition to zkSync, an optimistic rollup platform, is seen as a low-touch process, allowing developers to easily deploy their existing code. However, some developer tooling adjustments are necessary, particularly for debugging and event handling, which are being addressed. The majority of tools will continue to function as they do on the Ethereum mainnet. The ultimate goal of implementing zk rollups is to improve the overall user experience and preserve decentralization, with trust assumptions being a crucial aspect of the zk EVM ecosystem. This is an important conversation as the zk EVM ecosystem continues to evolve and developers strive to unlock their full potential for building on it.
Making the world 'bankless' with ZkSync: ZkSync, a rollup solution, aims to extend the Internet of value and enable millions/billions to control their assets in a decentralized way, relying on Ethereum mainnet's security and zkMath's cryptography, with plans to remove centralization in the future.
ZkSync, a rollup solution, was built with the mission to make the world go "bankless" by allowing millions and potentially billions of people to have full control over their financial assets in a decentralized manner. This requires limitless extension of the Internet of value, which is only achievable through rollups due to the limitations of a single consensus or data availability layer. Trust is a crucial element, and zkSync relies on the security of the Ethereum mainnet as the settlement and data availability layer, and trust in zkMath's cryptography. The current implementation of zkSyncVM on testnet includes a centralized sequencer for easier and faster development, but plans are to remove this centralization vector in the future. The ultimate goal is to create a fully decentralized and trustless financial system.
ZkSync's Asset Security Feature: Escape Hatch Mechanism: ZkSync prioritizes asset security with an escape hatch mechanism, allowing users to prove failed transactions and withdraw assets. Costs are estimated to be similar to Ethereum Mainnet v1, but data availability costs will increase.
ZkSync, a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, prioritizes asset security by allowing users to enforce transactions and withdraw assets if they don't trust the network. This is achieved through an escape hatch mechanism that proves failed transactions, a feature not currently available in StarkNet. The costs for this feature are estimated to be similar to Ethereum Mainnet's version 1. However, data availability costs, which are dominated by Ethereum's bandwidth space, will increase as more roll-ups use it. zkSync also plans to introduce an evolution called zk Porter to address these costs. The question about prover cost and setup is significant as it sets limits on minimum transaction costs and helps users understand the infrastructure requirements.
Ethereum's Scalability Strategy: Three Layers: Ethereum's strategy includes consensus, data availability, and execution layers. Users can save costs by securing data off-chain with roll-ups like zkSync 2.0, leading to cheaper transactions and DeFi innovation.
Ethereum's scalability strategy involves a modular design with three layers: consensus, data availability, and execution. Users can choose between securing their data availability on Ethereum or using a less expensive alternative like zkSync and zk Porter. zkSync is an execution layer that can reduce transaction costs, and its latest version, zkSync 2.0, is now live on the public testnet and is fully EVM compatible, allowing for the deployment of any contract. This new version is like upgrading from a Nokia 3110 to a more advanced smartphone. The competition among roll-ups and execution layers is beneficial for the ecosystem, leading to innovation and cheaper transactions, which is good news for DeFi.
Gemini's zkSync transition and Uniswap grants program: Gemini's zkSync testnet to mainnet transition and Uniswap's grants program for ecosystem contributions
For the best prices and most liquidity when trading crypto assets, consider using Matcha.xyz/bankless and connecting your wallet to Gemini. Gemini offers access to over 50 cryptos, including popular DeFi and Metaverse tokens, and provides yield on various cryptos through Gemini Earn. The transition from Gemini's testnet to mainnet for zkSync is expected to happen in the coming months, with the testnet remaining separate and contracts needing to be redeployed on the mainnet. Uniswap, a decentralized exchange on Ethereum, offers autonomous code for trading tokens at market prices, and the Uniswap grants program is accepting applications for ideas to contribute to the ecosystem.
ZK Rollup system's consensus layer requires a token for operation: The ZK Rollup system's consensus layer uses a token for securing data, introducing consensus, penalizing misbehavior, validating transactions, and receiving fees as a sequencer. Plans are in place to decentralize its supply to ensure maximum security and individual participation.
The ZK Porter and ZK Sync consensus layer in the ZK Rollup system require a token for operation. This token is essential for securing data, introducing a layer of consensus, and penalizing those who do not secure the ZK Porter appropriately. It also serves to validate transactions and receive fees as a sequencer. Although the token starts off centralized, plans are in place to decentralize its supply to ensure maximum security and individual participation. The token is necessary for both ZK Porter and ZK Sync, and its distribution must reflect the high level of expected decentralization. The opportunity for developers and users to contribute to this ecosystem and get rewarded is significant.
Empowering Individuals and Reducing Centralization with ZKSync: ZKSync, led by MATTER Labs, aims to provide liquidity and decentralization through its technology, enabling a limitless 'Internet of value'. The ZKDAO offers additional funds for developers, and key figure Alex shares a personal connection to the importance of decentralization in promoting peace and balance.
The ZKSync project, led by MATTER Labs, is focused on providing liquidity and decentralization through its technology. This is important because it aims to enable a limitless "Internet of value," promoting freedom and self-sovereignty. The ZKDAO, a separate entity cooperating with BigDAO, is an additional source of funds for developers building on layer 2, offering another way for the community to get involved. Born in Ukraine, Alex, a key figure in the project, shares a personal connection to the country's history and the importance of decentralization. Having witnessed the consequences of a centralized economy and political system, he believes that giving people economic power can prevent large-scale conflicts and promote a more balanced society. The crypto industry, with its decentralized nature, offers a potential solution to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine by empowering individuals and reducing reliance on centralized systems.
Crypto as a tool for financial control and humanitarian aid: Crypto enables individuals to regain control of their finances and provides aid during humanitarian crises in regions with unreliable traditional financial systems.
Crypto, specifically Bitcoin and Ethereum, has emerged as a powerful tool for individuals to regain control of their finances and aid in humanitarian crises, particularly in regions where traditional financial systems fail or are unreliable. Stories from Ukraine and Russia illustrate this, with examples of successful fundraising efforts and the ability to maintain wealth during times of instability. Crypto transactions can directly translate into help on the ground, with organizations selling digital assets for local currency or purchasing necessary goods and supplies. The crypto community in these regions is growing and proving to be a robust alternative to traditional financial systems, especially during times of crisis.
Historical tech strengths in crypto from Russia and Ukraine, but it's a global movement: Ukrainian developers contribute to crypto, focusing on innovation, collaboration, and knowledge sharing despite fewer business projects originating from these countries.
Despite the historical technological strengths in mathematics and programming coming from Russia and Ukraine due to their military defense needs during the Soviet Union era, the crypto industry is a global movement with contributors from all over the world, including a significant number of Ukrainian developers. The focus is on building innovative projects, and while there are fewer crypto-specific business projects originating from these countries, the global nature of the crypto community allows for collaboration and knowledge sharing regardless of geographical boundaries. It's essential to remember that involvement in crypto, including DeFi and rollups, comes with risks, but the potential rewards can be significant. The crypto space is a frontier for those willing to take on the risks, and it's an exciting journey towards decentralization and self-sovereignty for people everywhere.
