• Several Ethereum [ETH] scaling solutions have been developed to help improve the blockchain’s lagging transaction speed without compromising its security and decentralization.
• Zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups are part of these scaling solutions, but they have not been able to gain as much attention as their Optimistic counterparts.
• ZK Ethereum Virtual Machines (zkEVMs) can help execute smart contract transactions in a compatible way with zk proofs existing on the Ethereum infrastructure, and there has been recent development that could change the course of the scaling race.
Ethereum Scaling Solutions
For most of 2022, several Ethereum [ETH] scaling solutions rose to the occasion to help out the blockchain’s lagging transaction speed. This happened without compromising its security and decentralization. And yet, it was for this reason that Optimistic roll-ups including Optimism [OP] and Arbitrum were able to gain widespread adoption.
ZK Rollups
Zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups have also been part of these scaling solutions developed to solve the inherent scalability issue; however, they have not been able to gain attention like their Optimistic counterparts. The Total Value Locked (TVL) factor is one of the main reasons why these projects haven’t gained more traction – none of them have been able to overthrow either Arbitrum or Optimism in terms of TVL metric. The biggest ZK rollup dYdX had only a TVL of $360 million which is far below what their competitors are at.
zkEVMs
The ZK Ethereum Virtual Machines (zkEVMs) can help execute smart contract transactions in a compatible way with zk proofs existing on the Ethereum infrastructure; thereby leading to customizable off-chain and on-chain scaling. Bankless noted that there is possibility that these zkEVMs could replicate what their optimistic counterparts did in 2022; however, it remains uncertain whether they will be able to reach their potential due to lack of liquidity deposits directed towards them so far.
Development Progress
On a brighter side though, type 1 – type 4 zkEVMs seem ready for compatibility with Ethereum applications as Starknet has already reached stage 3 while zkSync launched its Mainnet form earlier this year itself. These developments could lead an improvement in acceptance in 2023 if everything falls into place correctly; however, it is important that developers keep working on further progress despite current limitations such as TVL holding them back from reaching their true potentials when compared against other protocols such as Optimism & Arbitrum etc..
Conclusion
Despite encountering some limitations so far, Zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups still hold great potential when it comes down improving upon scalability issues within ETH network without sacrificing any security/decentralization aspects at all – which is why we should be hopeful about seeing some major changes happening by 2023 if developers continue working hard enough!