ETH Gets Upgraded Scaling Testnet Years Ahead Of Schedule

ETH gets upgraded scaling testnet years ahead of schedule and the zkEVM test network will be the first that is able to change the scaling landscape in the near future so let’s read more in today’s latest ethereum news.

zkSync is a protocol responsible for implementing ETH scaling platforms and it accomplished the unexpected yesterday by announcing the test network release of the Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible Zero-knowledge rollup years ahead of the initial schedule. The EVM is an environment where all ETH wallets and contracts live and are responsible for defining the rules of the chain from block to block. The new test network is the first implementation of the ZK rollup that is able to run the full ETH environment to provide great insight into how capable the zero-knowledge technology is when it comes to scaling blockchains.

Over the past few years, Ethereum rollups took two different directions ins calling the base layer and were categorized as Optimistic and Zero-Knowledge. Both technologies saw some level of adoption with Arbitrum being the most notable chain and DyDx taking advantage of the ZK technology for the leveraged tradign application. Similar to DyDx, Rollups have focused mostly on offering a single type of application per chain because the full ETH environment that offers customizable smart contracts would be quite extensive.

Until now, the trade-offs tended to favor Optimism and Arbitrum so now zkSync has the chance to level the playing field. Optimistic Rollups are able to offer a single environment where users can use applications ranging from NFT marketplaces like OpenSea to the lending protocols like Aave and zkEVM will create a single end experience for the users with cheaper transaction fees with the immediate finality and will remove the need for two-week withdrawal period that is associated with Optimistic rollups.

ZK rollups are quite extensive and put a heavyweight on nodes looking to solve zero-knowledge validity proofs but are also able to post network state to ETH for a fraction of the cost. Loopring for example offers transaction fees 1/200^th of the price of the mainnet and at the time of writing, the trade on decentralzied exchanges would cost the users on the ETH base layer over $90. As ETH gets upgraded scaling solution, the scaling issues could be mitigated earlier than expected. Ethereum’s native applications will be able to manage the solidity-based contracts and offer a range of products in a cheap environment backed by security.

The lower transaction fees are an essential price of scaling but it only matters if the chain can play a host to applications that boost the user demand. zKEVM will be able to host the industry’s applications without sacrificing liquidity and decentralization.