ConsenSys has announced that it will release its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) rollup to a public testnet on March 28, allowing for stress testing of layer 2 scaling techniques.
ConsenSys' R&D team has been working on its zkEVM rollup for the past four years. zkEVM is touted as providing fast finality, high throughput, and secure settlement on the Ethereum blockchain.
A private beta launch in Q4 2022 provides early access to limited users who have processed over 350,000 transactions and joined various decentralized applications (DApps). The testnet allows Solidity developers to build, test, and launch DApps while testing the zkEVM at scale. The ConsenSys zkEVM is the result of the work of the Infura, Truffle, and MetaMask teams, as well as the Besu and Gnark developers. The aggregated integrations and capabilities are designed to remove complexity for developers, improve security, and speed onboarding.
The announcement, shared with Cointelegraph, highlighted zero switching costs as a benefit for projects in the ecosystem. Developers can build or migrate existing DApps on zkEVM without changing code or rewriting smart contracts. zkEVM also uses Ether, For gas costs, reduces the need for third-party code translators and other middleware solutions.
ConsenSys zkEVM integrates with MetaMask to speed up user onboarding. Infura integration also allows developers to release DApps at scale. Developers will also be able to build, test, debug and deploy Solidity smart contracts using various layer 2 developer environments powered by Truffle.
ConsenSys also aims to keep its zkEVM open source after release. Nicolas Liochon, head of R&D at ConsenSys, told Cointelegraph that the goal of the public testnet is to try out the system under the same conditions as the mainnet, where the stakes are higher. After integration with the public testnet, ConsenSys will conduct system upgrades. This, Liochon said, aims to lay the groundwork for a "high-performance, trustless and decentralized web."
The final upgrade will also initiate its audit and security processes to ensure that zkEVM is safe and secure ahead of the mainnet launch scheduled for later in 2023.
ConsenSys is in discussions with key players in the Ethereum ecosystem to deploy and integrate its zkEVM testnet. Liochon highlighted the focus on making the scaling rollup EVM equivalent, a key factor in making it easy for DApps and tools to switch to its zkEVM.
Liochon also said that efforts to provide decentralized and trustless applications to the public require simpler and less expensive systems. zkEVM aims to achieve this by building a trustless, censorship-resistant, decentralized, and high-performance execution layer that scales Ethereum. Collaboration with the broader layer 2 ecosystem is also a focus for ConsenSys. Liochon said the group is looking to collaborate with innovators in the field to hold the first zkEVM “multi-prover” rollup.
This type of scaling rollup will have multiple prover implementations to generate proofs of validity of the computation.
