Ethereum rollup network zkSync has launched “Baby Alpha” v2 on the mainnet – a solution that its creator Matter Labs describes as the first “product ready” scaling solution with a zk-EVM.
On Oct. 29, zkSync said it had reached a Baby Alpha milestone with the deployment of the end-to-end zkRollup on the mainnet.
For the time being, the solution, which is now live on the Ethereum network, will be focused on stress-testing the system through a series of “real money stress tests.” It will also run security audits and ensure the block explorer is working as required, before opening up access for external projects.
zkSync is a zero-knowledge (ZK) proof rollup that functions as a way to scale Ethereum by bundling transactions using cryptographic proofs. The solution will serve to speed up transactions on the blockchain by improving on some of the limitations offered by other solutions such as Optimistic rollups.
Optimistic rollups have a seven-day dispute period for transactions submitted to the mainnet, whereas ZK proofs do not. It also offers enhanced privacy by making only the transaction date and time available to view on chain.
The fact that this version of zkSync will be fully Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible will undoubtedly be a big win for developers in the journey to scaling Ethereum. This has led some competitors to question whether zkSync’s underlying technology truly works as Matter Labs has claimed.
“We are NOT 12 days away from the first zkEVM on mainnet in any meaningful way. And anyone pushing this narrative is doing a disservice to the community,” said Steven Goldfeder, the CEO of Offchain Labs in a tweet last week. Offchain Labs is the entity behind Arbitrum, a layer 2 scaling solution building Optimistic rollups.
Steve Newcomb, the chief product officer at Matter Labs, refuted Goldfeder’s claims in a statement to CoinDesk on Sunday.
“We would simply point to the fact that we have shipped our end-to-end prover exactly as defined with public verification and that we have shipped it exactly on schedule as outlined in our public road map – milestone 3,” said Newcomb, calling the Arbitrum founder’s tweet “simply false and a bad look for the entire space.”
