coindesk.com
Polygon, an Ethereum scaling platform, is releasing its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) beta to the public Monday, the latest launch in what is expected to be one of 2023’s hottest blockchain trends.
Polygon also said that it is making all aspects of its zkEVM open source, so developers are able to study and share the code, allowing them to contribute to more innovations in the zero-knowledge space.
“We want to be extremely aligned to the Web3 ethos,” Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder of Polygon, said in an interview with CoinDesk. “We want more experimentation.”
As part of the ceremony of the announcement, according to the Polygon team, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, will initiate the first transaction on the new zkEVM, and it will be livestreamed at ETHGlobal at 4:30 p.m. Central European Time (10:30 a.m. ET).
Over 50 companies shared that they would build using the Polygon zkEVM technology, according to Polygon’s press release.
Read more: Polygon Sets March Date for zkEVM Mainnet Beta to Go Live
The race to come out with the first zkEVMs culminated last week when Polygon’s rival, Matter Labs, opened its zkEVM, zkSync Era, to the public.
Buterin himself has promoted the development of scaling solutions for Ethereum since at least 2020, and noted in a blog post last August that the various versions of zkEVMs come with tradeoffs – such as speed versus the degree of compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine programming environment.
"In general, it's healthy for the space that all of these types are being explored," he wrote.
Although the Polygon zkEVM is live for users to interact with, Nailwal warned that it is still a new technology, hence why it is being called a beta mainnet.
“It's a new technology, so we are going to put ample warnings for the users that please be cautious on this, don't bring your life savings into it immediately,” Nailwal said.
Polygon has also previously told CoinDesk that it is exploring using ZK technology in its main chain, the Polygon POS chain.
Nailwal said he believes ZK technology is the future of Ethereum.
In “18 to 24 months, you will see almost all of the large web3 applications being built on the zero-knowledge-proven layer 2 chains.”
Read more: Matter Labs Opens zkSync Era to Users, Claiming First in ‘Zero Knowledge’ Tech on Ethereum