zkSync airdrop is imminent, quickly understand the project's advantages and potential
The zkSync system features high scalability, high performance, and high security, completely different from those unfortunate systems commonly referred to as "L2."Source: anthonykrose X account
Author: Anthony Rose, zkSync Developer
Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow
The L2 space has undergone tremendous changes in the past few years, and previously, when looking at @l2beat, there was no need to scroll down to browse through various L2s.
I also understand that it’s not easy to grasp the differences between these systems. I’d like to briefly introduce our work at @zksync. This field is very complex, and even developers within the Ethereum ecosystem find it challenging to understand the distinctions between rollup projects. With the influence of hype and marketing, it becomes even harder to discern truly valuable information.
Optimistic rollups and ZK rollups are still difficult to fully comprehend, not to mention other new solutions in the blockchain space (such as optimiums, volitions, validiums). I will try to simplify this topic because this system is genuinely exciting, and I hope more people can better understand it.
Our vision is to build a foundational system beneath the application layer that adds value to the lives of billions. Just like today’s internet, these applications can improve people’s lives, but the blockchain can bring more value and ownership, which will greatly enhance the functionality of these applications.
To achieve this vision, it’s clear that this system needs to be scalable like the internet. Engineers refer to this scaling method as "horizontal scaling" — essentially, we just need to add hardware and expand the network, and we must accomplish this while maintaining high standards for all key metrics.
You can verify the correctness of a vast system with a small proof that performs a significant amount of computational work, and this proof can be executed on any smartphone. This is why ZK systems can (reasonably) achieve horizontal scaling, while Optimistic systems cannot; this is the advantage of ZK solutions.
This horizontal scaling essentially means: deploying more rollups on this protocol layer. These rollups can be application-specific or general-purpose, but all of them can be abstracted away from the end users. Here’s a very scientific diagram that I hope will help everyone understand:
At the protocol layer, these systems need to perform trustless interactions. If not, the entire user experience becomes fragmented (just like today when using different L2s or L1s).
Optimistic systems cannot properly implement this interaction. The options are basically:
Wait for interactions for 7 days (challenge period)
Run a full node for each L2 that its users want to interact with
Charge users using intermediaries.
None of these are ideal. With ZK technology, these systems can achieve trustless interactions, allowing any rollup to communicate with each other and confirm that the state of the other system is correct. This is mathematically proven. Users don’t even need to know where the game they are playing is hosted, or when they want to send $20 to a friend for lunch, they don’t need to know which rollup their friend is using.
Optimistic rollups also need to publish all transaction inputs to L1, as this is their operational mechanism, and this data is necessary to resolve potential challenges in state transitions. This is a massive amount of data, while ZK systems do not have this issue.
You can prove the correctness of the system without publishing all states to L1 (you can publish to other places or build a private system). This is a validium. You know it’s correct, but you don’t have a state record on Ethereum.
I also mentioned that throughout the @zksync ecosystem, proofs can be combined, allowing you to verify the entire network in one proof. This means that as the system scales, on-chain costs approach zero, and you can verify it on any smartphone.
The @zksync system we are building is highly scalable, high-performance, and highly secure, completely different from those unfortunate systems commonly referred to as "L2." These systems are not the same, and many will disappear after a year.
The future ecosystem will consist of many ZK chains, which will be configured differently based on specific use cases, but all will have equally strong security guarantees and fast, trustless interactions. Anyone can deploy new ZK chains in the ecosystem without permission and interact immediately across the network.
There is much more to discuss about @zksync, but the above are the core points I wanted to share today. This is why I am excited about @zksync, why ZK systems will truly change the world, and why ZK is the ultimate solution.
