Latest innovations by Polygon Labs for EVM blockchains

Polygon Labs has presented the Type 1 Verifier, offering EVM blockchains the possibility to implement zero-knowledge scalability technology.

This tool is essential in transforming EVM blockchains into validium, facilitating proof verification and compliance with Ethereum standards. Let’s see all the details below.

Polygon Labs: EVM chains will be able to adopt zero-knowledge scalability technology

As anticipated last week, Polygon introduced the “Type 1 Prover”, a technology designed to facilitate EVM-compatible chains in adopting zero-knowledge proofs.

The release of the type 1 verifier is expected by the end of the year and will be integrated into Polygon’s CDK (software stack).

This represents a step forward compared to the previous type 2 test mechanism, which lacked compatibility with other EVM chains.

Brendan Farmer, co-founder of Polygon, stated the following:

“The type 1 verifier is able to generate zero-knowledge proofs for any EVM chain without requiring hard forks or adjustments to existing clients.”

Polygon Labs aims to leverage this verifier to transform various blockchains, including side chains and optimistic roll-ups, into validium.

This latter represents a specialized form of Layer 2 networks that use zero-knowledge proofs to improve efficiency and reduce transaction costs.

Validium networks only store zk-proofs on the Ethereum mainnet, keeping the actual transaction data off-chain and supported by a data availability solution.

This approach differs from ZK-Rollups, which also need to publish application data proofs on the Ethereum mainnet.

Farmer highlighted that projects can choose to become fully ZK-Rollup if they want to use the type 1 verifier. The final decision is in the hands of the involved teams.

Migration to ZK: advantages and innovations

The transition to a ZK-based network, such as Validium or ZK-Rollup, presents potential significant advantages for Layer 2 projects.

Among these, we see the elimination of the seven-day withdrawal delay associated with optimistic rollup solutions, such as Optimism and Arbitrum, according to Farmer’s words.

This delay has been the subject of discussion, as it involves additional time and costs for users who rely on third-party bridges for transactions.

Farmer has emphasized that users incur significant costs for Optimistic Layer 2, which could be avoided with an upgrade to a ZK-based network.

After the transition to ZK, the chains will be able to be connected through the AggLayer, the interoperability protocol of Polygon, scheduled for release of the first version in February.

This will allow developers to connect blockchains and ensure consistent security across modular and monolithic chains, including those within the Polygon ecosystem.

AggLayer will be an essential element of Polygon 2.0, the next iteration of the Polygon network. Contrary to traditional interoperability solutions, AggLayer will unify the ZK proofs of all connected chains.

Vitalik Buterin’s opinion on the latest news from Polygon

The latest news mentioned above from Polygon has captured the attention of the crypto community, including Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin.

As we said, the key point of this progress is the launch of the “type 1 prover”, a new component designed to enhance the scalability and interoperability of Ethereum-compatible networks.

The technological genius of this advancement has not escaped Buterin, who has long advocated for the potential of zero-knowledge proofs in improving the capabilities of Layer 2 networks, bringing them closer to their underlying blockchains.

Buterin has shared his vision for the future, hoping that everything will evolve towards “type 1” over time, thanks to improvements both in ZK-EVM and in Ethereum itself to make them more compatible with ZK-SNARK.

In such a scenario, we would have several ZK-EVM implementations that can be used for both ZK rollups and verifying the Ethereum chain itself.

The significance of this breakthrough lies in its potential to unify the fragmented blockchain sector.

By allowing EVM chains and optimistic rollups to connect to the type 1 prover and subsequently to the Polygon aggregation layer without modifications, networks can benefit from Ethereum’s extensive liquidity and value.