About

ZKsync is a trustless Layer 2 protocol for scalable low-cost payments on Ethereum, powered by zkRollup technology. It is a user-centric zk rollup platform from Matter Labs.

Its key features and products include:

• ZKsync Era: A trustless protocol that uses cryptographic validity proofs to provide scalable and low-cost transactions on Ethereum. It supports EVM-compatible smart contracts, instant transaction confirmations, and low fees.
• SDKs: ZKsync provides SDKs in various programming languages to help developers build dApps on the ZKsync network. These SDKs streamline the development process by providing tools for seamless integration with ZKsync's features.
• ZKsync Node: This component allows users to run a read-replica of the main node, enabling local verification of the ZKsync mainnet/testnet state. It provides an API for interacting with the recreated state in a trustless manner.
• ZK Stack and zkEVM: ZKsync's stack includes zkEVM, which maintains full compatibility with Ethereum, allowing for integration and interaction with the Ethereum ecosystem. This enables the launch of zero-knowledge rollups.

History

With ZKsync, Matter Labs is solving the problem of bringing mass-adoption ready scalability to accommodate a mainstream user base on blockchain. Without real mass adoption, the value propositions of many ‘promising blockchain ideas’ are deemed to remain largely unfulfilled.

For Matter Labs, scalability is thought of not only in terms of transaction throughput, but the overall readiness of blockchain systems to meet the demands of millions of users. Matter Labs’ solution is ZKsync, whose value proposition is based on trustlessness, confidentiality, and speed.

Matter Labs was founded in 2018 by Alex Gluchowski. The matter labs team laid out its vision for the ZKsync solution in late 2019, as the first trustless L2 scaling solution with L1 reorg-level security and guarantee of fund safety, supporting a fully zero-knowledge based smart contract ecosystem.

ZKsync v1.0 was released on the Ethereum Mainnet on June 15th 2020. It currently utilizes PLONK as its zero-knowledge prover, which requires a "trusted setup" of a Common Reference String (CRS). In PLONK, this setup can be done once and be reused by any number of applications (this is called Universal CRS). If at least one participant deletes the entropy (randomness) used to provide their contribution, the setup is secure. Matter Labs participated in the global Ignition trusted setup ceremony for PLONK on BN256 elliptic curve, coordinated by AZTEC protocol. This limited the maximum size of the zk proof for a block, and thus the maximum throughput of ZKsync was capped at ~300 TPS.

As part of ZKsync 1.1’s release on August 1st 2020, which fulfilled most of the requirements of Reddit’s Great Scaling Bake-Off, the following additions were made:

• Recursive ZK proofs were implemented, unlocking the full zkRollup capacity (up to 3,000 TPS).
• Added support for automatic recurring payments (subscriptions).
• Enabled transactions for batching and paying fees in a separate token.
• Made burning and minting tokens possible inside ZKsync.

On March 1st 2021, Matter Labs announced a 2M USD Series A financing round for strategic partners, to preserve the dominance of the community share in future ZKsync network — in contrast to the anticipated distribution of other scaling solutions’ assets and governance.

On November 8th 2021, a 50M USD round led by Andreessen Horowitz was announced, which included investors from the previous round and increased the number of strategic partners.

Notable achievements from ZKsync since launch are: processed over 1 million transactions on mainnet, powered 2 Gitcoin Grant Rounds, and was integrated into Golem, Numio, StablePay, Storj, plus a number of other dapps. Matter Labs envisions ZKsync turning into the main payment backbone of Ethereum, connecting users, wallets, services, dapps, and exchanges.