Polygon’s zkEVM Solution Set to Launch on March 27

After a lengthy development period, Polygon has announced that its Ethereum layer-2 solution, zkEVM, will officially launch on March 27.

On the evening of February 14, Polygon (MATIC) revealed that March 27 will be the launch date for zkEVM, its layer-2 solution for Ethereum utilizing zero-knowledge proof technology.

While Polygon has yet to disclose all specific details or confirm whether the general public will have access to zkEVM at launch, the company has emphasized that network security will be a top priority and will provide further updates in the coming weeks.

zkEVM is a layer-2 solution for Ethereum built on zk-Rollups technology, which uses zero-knowledge proofs to verify data and enhance privacy.

Polygon first announced zkEVM in July 2022 and has since developed it, with over 5,000 smart contracts deployed and 75,000 zk proofs generated.

True to its name, zkEVM will be compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) from the outset, allowing Ethereum projects to seamlessly integrate and deploy their products on zkEVM. Polygon’s team stated:

“Polygon zkEVM is the ‘gold standard’ for EVMs, having passed 100% of the tests for an Ethereum EVM. Developers can simply copy and paste their Ethereum code into zkEVM without any additional modifications.”

Polygon co-founder Mihailo Bjelic told CoinDesk that the team is also exploring ways to integrate zkEVM with the main Polygon POS blockchain.

zk-Rollups are becoming the preferred development path for many Ethereum layer-2 solutions due to their advantages over Optimistic Rollups, including StarkNet, zkSync, and Scroll, all competing to be the first zk-Rollups layer-2 solution to launch for the community.

Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal commented:

“The mainnet launch of Polygon zkEVM will make it the first zk-Rollups solution integrated with the mainnet, marking a significant milestone in Ethereum’s scaling journey and bringing Web3 to the public.”

In contrast, the other direction for Ethereum layer-2 development, Optimistic Rollups, has seen several solutions come online and demonstrate substantial potential, such as Arbitrum and Optimism.

Comparison of ETH transfer and token swap fees between Ethereum and layer-2 solutions as of the morning of February 15, 2023. Source: L2fees

MATIC’s price has increased by over 6% in the past 24 hours, driven by the news of Polygon’s upcoming zkEVM layer-2 solution launch for Ethereum.

15m Chart of MATIC/USDT on Binance as of 08:55 AM, February 15, 2023