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Ultimate Guide to zkEVM: Comprehensive Comparison of 6 zkEVM Solutions.

2023-08-10 22:00

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zkEVM is bringing Ethereum to the masses. But with so many options, which one is the best? We compared Polygon zkEVM (+ 2.0), zkSync Era, Linea, Scroll, and Taiko to bring you the ultimate guide to zkEVM.

Quickly review:

zkEVM is a layer 2 network that processes transactions and sends proofs back to Ethereum. They use zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) and EVM compatibility to reduce computational load on Ethereum (L1) and improve scalability without sacrificing security or decentralization.

However, not all zkEVMs are the same. There are different types of zkEVM:

Vitalik has a great framework that showcases the pros and cons of each type, from Ethereum equivalent (Type 1) to EVM compatible (Type 4). The main trade-off is between EVM compatibility and performance:

So which zkEVM is the best? We compared several popular solutions:

→ Polygon zkEVM (+ 2.0)

→ zkSync Era

→ Linea

→ Scroll

→ Taiko

Let's break them down.

Polygon 2.0 (zkEVM Validium)

In June 2023, Polygon Labs proposed to upgrade Polygon PoS to zkEVM validium.

Polygon PoS has a powerful ecosystem:

→ 2B+ TVL (on-chain assets)

→ Tens of thousands of dApps

-> About 2.5 million transactions per day.

Transferring PoS to zkEVM validium will retain its network effects and low fees without affecting its existing application, user, and developer experience. However, doesn't Polygon already have zkEVM?

Polygon believes that 2.0 (its proposed zkEVM validium) is a lower-cost, higher-throughput version of its Polygon zkEVM Rollup.

Rollups utilize Ethereum to publish transaction data and verify proofs, inheriting its security and decentralization. However, there are trade-offs:

The disadvantage of Rollup is the high cost of publishing transaction data to Ethereum and the limited throughput. Validium provides similar security guarantees as Rollup (ZK proof ensures the validity of transactions), but transaction data is provided off-chain.

Compared to Rollup, this gives Validiums two main advantages:

The cost is low because they do not consume expensive Ethereum Gas (i.e. block space for storing transaction data).

Higher scalability, as the throughput of Rollups is limited by the transaction data that can be published to Ethereum.

Validium's trade-off is that they must ensure the availability of transaction data outside of Ethereum, which can be challenging. However, the existing 100+ validators in Polygon PoS can provide highly secure and reliable guarantees for data availability.

So why use Polygon zkEVM?

Polygon zkEVM

Polygon zkEVM is a type 3 ZK-Rollup. Its goal is to be equivalent to EVM - which means it has greater scalability when working with existing Ethereum tools and clients (by preserving EVM opcode compatibility).

Currently, Polygon PoS (2.0) and Polygon zkEVM rollup are two public networks in the Polygon ecosystem. This remains the case after the upgrade: one serves as a aggregator, while the other serves as a Validium.

But why not just abandon Polygon zkEVM?

Polygon 2.0 and Polygon zkEVM complement each other: Polygon zkEVM (Rollup) has slightly higher fees and lower throughput, but provides the highest level of security. This is best suited for applications handling high-value transactions (such as DeFi).

The mainnet of Polygon zkEVM will be launched in March 2023, and the current TVL on the network is about $54 million. Built on Polygon zkEVM: https://thirdweb.com/polygon-zkevm

zkSync Era

zkSync Era is currently a type 4 zkEVM, but over time, it may increase compatibility with EVM bytecode. Era (its mainnet) is built by Matter Labs and is scheduled to launch in March 2023. Its current TVL is approximately $450 million, with a trading volume of 27 million transactions in the past month.

zkSync's goal is not EVM equivalence, but to improve proof generation speed through its custom virtual machine (VM). It natively supports Ethereum cryptographic primitives, simplifies testing of Hardhat plugins, and improves user experience through native account abstraction.

zkSync Era uses its LLVM compiler to convert Solidity, Vyper, and Yul code into executable code on the zkSync VM, and plans to be compatible with Rust and C++ in the future. It has a powerful L1-L2 contract message passing system to help developers transfer data between contracts on Ethereum and zkSync.

zkSync's upcoming integration of zkPorter will provide users with the following options:

- High-security zkRollup accounts, compared to Ethereum, reduce costs by about 20 times.

- A zkPorter account with stable transaction fees and different security models allows flexible user experiences.

Regarding data availability, zkSync Era introduces state diffs instead of transaction inputs - providing data compression and integration with zkPorter.

As the only type 4 zkEVM in this list, its custom virtual machine enables certain features (as well as higher scalability) on the zkSync Era.

For example: zkSync Era enhances the developer experience by natively supporting account abstraction through its custom virtual machine. However, EVM-equivalent chains cannot natively support account abstraction and instead implement it through Ethereum's ERC-4337.

The disadvantage of zkEVM type 4 is the lack of compatibility - the development process needs to be adjusted to build applications on zkSync. Build on zkSync Era: https://twitter.com/thirdweb/status/1666119985520066561

Linea

Built by ConsenSys, the creator of MetaMask, Truffle, and Infura, Linea is currently a type 3 zkEVM. Integrated with the native MetaMask wallet and Truffle developer toolkit, its Alpha mainnet launched in July 2023 and has accumulated a TVL of $50 million.

Linea's uniqueness lies in its ability to execute unmodified native bytecode according to the Ethereum Virtual Machine specification. Its goal is to provide a type 2 zkEVM in the future, ensuring near-complete compatibility with Ethereum while maintaining scalability.

Linea does not use a transpiler or custom compiler. It directly uses the bytecode generated by Solidity to generate ZK proofs for smart contracts, thereby reducing the risk of errors and hacker attacks. For users, this means similar security to Ethereum, but with much lower transaction costs.

Build on Linea: https://thirdweb.com/linea

Scroll zkEVM

Scroll is a zk-Rollup on Ethereum, currently a type 3 zkEVM and planning to transition to type 2.

Its long-term goal is to prioritize EVM compatibility and decentralization, rather than fast generation of ZKPs, thus shifting towards type 1 zkEVM.

The first type of success is the ultimate form of EVM compatibility, decentralization, and scalability - essentially a copy of Ethereum L1. However, as we have seen from Ethereum itself, this is much more difficult to achieve.

Currently, the alpha testnet of Scroll is a type 3 zkEVM and has been made available to the public. Build on Scroll: https://thirdweb.com/scroll-alpha-testnet.

Taiko

Taiko's Type 1 testnet is currently available. Build on Taiko at: https://thirdweb.com/taiko-grimsvotn-l2.

Using Vitalik's framework: → Taiko: Type 1 (testnet online) → Polygon zkEVM: Type 3 (mainnet online + planned migration to Type 2) → Linea: Type 3 (mainnet online + planned migration to Type 2) → Scroll: Type 3 (testnet online + planned transition to Type 1) → zkSync Era: Type 4 (mainnet online)

In short, L2 development and adoption are key to the future of Ethereum and solving the scalability issues of blockchain. Each zkEVM has unique advantages and faces unique challenges, but they all play a critical role in achieving an accessible web3 ecosystem.