About zkSync mainnet launch: what you need to know

Original title: "About zkSync mainnet launch: what you need to know"  

Original author: Mike, The Block

Original compilation: A lot of water丨zkSync

Ethereum layer 2 network zkSync will be launched on the mainnet on October 28th. Users won't be able to use it until its full release by the end of the year. This is the first time that Ethereum's new scaling method has been stress tested in a real environment. After more than four years of preparation, zkSync is about to launch its highly anticipated product.  

One of the biggest debates in the industry is how Ethereum will scale, and what methods or Technology will be most successful. As such, the launch of zkSync will be a pivotal moment for Ethereum, as it will be the first time zkSync’s novel scaling method will be stress-tested in a live environment.  

zkSync is a complex technology, words like "zkEVM" make people incomprehensible. Let’s break down what zkSync is, when it launched, and how it differs from other Ethereum scaling solutions.  

What is zkSync?    

zkSync is a new way to solve the scaling problem of Ethereum. It was one of the first applications of zero-knowledge proof technology and announced to be the first to use the technology in a way that is natively compatible with Ethereum applications.   

In short, zkSync hopes to provide Cheaper, faster transactions, and home to many popular Ethereum applications. If successful, we could see major decentralized exchanges and DeFi protocols expand to zkSync layers — giving crypto users access to these tools at a lower cost.  

More specifically, zkSync is a Layer 2 protocol. This means it is a layer built on top of Ethereum and offers scalability benefits. Ethereum's plan to scale is through a multi-tiered system, with each layer building on top of Ethereum and inheriting its security. ZkSync hopes to provide an alternative to current layer 2 options such as Arbitrum and Optimism.  

zkSync was built by a team called Matter Labs. On the team was product lead Steve Newcomb, who founded Powerset, which was later acquired by Microsoft and later became part of Microsoft Bing. Next to him is engineering chief Anthony Rose, who led engineering teams at SpaceX for several years, building software for the Falcon, Dragon and Starlink.

When will zkSync go live?    

Currently, zkSync is running on the testnet, which has been running since February. Users can interact with the platform and the applications built on it before the mainnet launch.  

Mainnet launch itself has several distinct phases. Each phase is designed to incrementally build and stress test portions of the network before allowing access to a large number of users or providing full deployment capabilities for other projects.  

The first launch is called the Baby Alpha phase. It will be held on October 28th. This will see the network running - but without any external projects to ensure the entire network is up and running before it is ready for prime time.  

Once complete, the Fair Launch Alpha will begin. This is expected to happen later this year and will allow ecosystem projects and a limited number of users to migrate over.   The final stage is a full Alpha that will allow all projects and users to deploy and use zkSync. The team plans to complete the work by the end of this year.  

Why is this launch significant for Ethereum?    

The main reason why the introduction of zkSync makes sense for Ethereum is because it will bring faster transaction speeds at lower costs.  

 

When launched, zkSync will provide 10 to 20 times faster and lower-cost transactions. This will give crypto users another way to use the blockchain — especially as more applications become available on zkSync.  

"We will eventually be able to see scaling happen, eventually thousands of million transactions, and the cost of using Ethereum can drop down to the number of use cases, the number of applications that join, and the number of users that join can ultimately lead to mass adoption," said Newcomb on The Scoop.

What is zkEVM and why is it important?    

The other major element of zkSync was its announcement to be the first zkEVM to launch its mainnet. zkEVM, short for Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine, allows developers to build zero-knowledge applications using the industry-standard coding language Solidity. The ability to use Solidity means developers can build applications using the same language and tools they use on Ethereum, and easily transition to zkSync once zkSync goes live.   

The important thing here is that zero-knowledge techniques may offer more scaling solutions than other Greater scalability. So far, projects have not been able to offer this kind of scalability and the benefits of running the Ethereum Virtual Machine.  

The result is that it may provide a very attractive human environment. Not only does it provide great scalability, but it also allows projects to be quickly and easily ported to the web. For this reason, many protocols are also expected to scale from the main Ethereum blockchain to zkSync and migrate from other blockchain ecosystems.  

"The number of projects requested to be ported to us includes People, people who use Ethereum, people who use Optimistic rollups, people who use Polygon sidechains, and then many StarkWare projects come to us and say, can we port it?” Newcomb  explained. "We don't know how many projects we've seen want to start, we need a fire brigade." 

< p>Newcomb added that it could take about nine months to complete all of these projects because the team didn't want to bring in too many projects at the beginning and face sudden scaling issues.  

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