zk-Rollup has always been regarded as the ultimate solution to the expansion problem of Ethereum, but due to the difficulty of developing zk technology, zk-Rollup products on the market have not been able to launch a universal and EVM-compatible expansion solution. With zkSync, one of the duo in the zk-Rollup field, launching its version 2.0 mainnet on October 28, zk-Rollup has undoubtedly taken a solid step towards large-scale applications.

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Comparative analysis of main technologies of zkSync2.0

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Advantages of zk-Rollup over op-Rollup

The zk-Rollup path represented by zkSync2.0 and StarkNet is generally regarded as the ultimate solution for Layer 2 expansion. So much so that Vitalik, the founder of Ethereum, believes that zk-Rollups will become the ultimate solution for expansion. The currently more popular op-Rollup may only exist as a transitional solution when the zk-Rollups technology is not yet mature.

Compared with the current op-Rollup products with stronger usability, the future zkSync2.0 will have a faster transaction confirmation speed. It only takes about 10 minutes to confirm the withdrawal from zkSync2.0 to the Ethereum mainnet, while the expansion scheme using OPs-Rollup usually takes about a week to complete.

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Comparison of Stark and Snark Algorithms

At present, the two most representative zk-Rollup products are StarkNet and zkSync2.0, which will launch the main network soon. Although both belong to the zk-Rollup expansion route, they use different underlying proof algorithms. StarkNet uses Stark technology, while zkSync2.0 uses the more mature Snark technology.

Here, I won’t make too much in-depth introduction to the principles of the two professional technical terms. In a simple summary, although the Stark algorithm has a large amount of calculation, it can have more advantages in calculation speed and security. But at the current stage, the development of Snark technology is obviously more mature, and it is easier to achieve EVM compatibility.

The zkSnark2.0 main network, which will be launched this time, is built using Snark technology and provides a Layer 2 expansion platform with EVM compatibility. It is expected that after the open deployment, there will be a large number of mature Ethereum ecological projects deployed on it.

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Similarities and differences between zkSync2.0 and zkSync1.0

The upcoming zkSync2.0 main network has greatly improved its functions compared to zkSync1.0, which has been in operation for more than a year.

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zkSync2.0 main application

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browser

LinkLink), currently the transaction information in zkSync1.0 can be displayed.

Cross-chain bridge

Cross-chain bridge

In zkSync1.0, users can directly find the cross-chain bridge connection from the Ethereum mainnet to the zkSync1.0 mainnet in the web wallet, as shown in the figure below.

In the zkSync2.0 test network, users can transfer the test ETH in the Ethereum test network Goerli to the zkSync2.0 test network in https://portal.zksync.io/bridge, as shown in the screenshot.

wallet

wallet

For users who use zkSync1.0 version, they can only use the official web wallet (https://wallet.zksync.io/) and use it together with MetaMask. This wallet only integrates some basic functions, such as Address for recharge, minting NFT and more.

But in zkSync2.0, users will be able to directly add zkSync2.0 RPC nodes in MetaMask like other EVM-compatible public chains, and use MetaMask to sign transactions in the interaction with the application.

It is particularly worth mentioning that zkSync2.0 supports account abstraction better than the Ethereum mainnet. At the same time, with lower transaction costs, it provides better underlying technical support for the realization of smart contract wallets.

trading platform

trading platform

After zkSync2.0 goes online, in addition to the zigzag trading platform that has been deployed in the 1.0 era, the protocol will also receive more support from Ethereum's ecological native DEX.

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zkSync development team and financing

The development team of zkSync is Matter Labs. Its co-founder and CEO Alex Gluchowski is from Germany and has held positions in R&D and CTO in many companies. Since 2013, he has been starting a business continuously. In 2017, he joined Entropy Labs in Hong Kong as a research and development officer and entered the blockchain industry. Finally, he co-founded Matter Labs in 2018.

Another co-founder, Alexandr Vlasov, graduated from McGill University in Canada with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. He co-founded Matter Labs and was in charge of R&D.

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After zkSync2.0 goes online, can ordinary users use it directly?

Unfortunately, not yet.

According to the official roadmap of the zkSync team, the zkSync2.0 mainnet, which will be launched on October 28, will only be open to team content, mainly for further testing and auditing. This stage is called Baby Alpha and is expected to last one month time.

After that, in late November, it will enter the Fair Launch Alpha stage. At this stage, the team will open the project deployment rights of ecological developers so that developers can test and upgrade their contracts. This stage is expected to last for several months.

Then in the first half of next year, it will advance to the Full Alpha stage. At that time, ordinary users can really experience its products on zkSync2.0. The specific time plan can be seen in the diagram below.

Therefore, although the zkSync2.0 mainnet launch this time is a very important product release in the zk-Rollup route, due to the high technical difficulty of this route, there is still a certain distance before ordinary users can truly experience the final product.

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Will the user's balance in zkSync1.0 be synchronized to the zkSync2.0 mainnet?

At present, since the zkSync2.0 mainnet has not yet opened users for testing, the balance and status of users in zkSync1.0 at this stage will not be merged after the zkSync2.0 mainnet goes live.

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Will tokens be issued after the zkSync2.0 mainnet goes live?

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Which well-known applications are determined to be migrated to zkSync2.0?

In addition to the Uniswap V3 version mentioned above, Sushiswap just announced yesterday that it will be deployed in zkSync2.0 (https://www.theblockbeats.info/flash/110920). It is expected that with the gradual advancement of the zkSync2.0 mainnet test, more ecological projects in Ethereum will announce to join the zkSync2.0 ecosystem.