Ethereum's significant scaling evolution is now underway. The network's rollup-centric roadmap is materializing with its transition to a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism. Among the most promising technologies poised to support the next billion users on Ethereum are Zero Knowledge (ZK) proofs.
Over the past year, Polygon has established itself as a major force in the ZK space, consolidating a remarkable array of research and development initiatives. The strategy involves multiple independent teams, each exploring different technical pathways while sharing knowledge and resources. This diversified approach represents a broad investment in the future of ZK technology.
While ZK proofs are widely viewed as the ultimate solution for blockchain scaling, the field is still young. It remains unclear how various ZK implementations will align with specific real-world applications. Technical decisions—such as the choice of proving systems, virtual machine design, and network architecture—carry significant implications for future adoption.
Here's how Polygon's ZK ecosystem is structured and what each project brings to the table.
Understanding Polygon Hermez
Core Technology
Hermez operates the first decentralized ZK Rollup on the Ethereum mainnet, launched in March 2021. It functions as a payments platform that offers substantial scalability and low transaction fees while maintaining Layer 1 security. Its ZK-SNARK-based architecture supports up to 2,000 transactions per second with gas costs kept below 300,000.
A primary focus for the Hermez team has been building a zero-knowledge implementation of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Since the EVM wasn't originally designed with ZK proofs in mind, the team is reconstructing the entire set of machine instruction codes to create a zkEVM from the ground up.
Emulating the exact EVM opcodes offers several benefits. It inherits the battle-tested security of Ethereum and allows existing developers to migrate their work effortlessly, leveraging familiar tools and environments. The network is decentralized by design and incorporates incentive mechanisms to attract participants.
Development Team
Jordi Baylina leads the project with a team of approximately 33 people. Jordi has been an active contributor to the Ethereum ecosystem since assisting in the recovery of funds from TheDAO incident. He is supported by David Schwartz as Project Lead and Antoni Martin as Business Lead.
Project Timeline
A testnet launch for the zkEVM is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022, with a mainnet release planned for the third quarter.
Exploring Polygon Zero
Core Technology
Polygon Zero, previously known as Mir, has dedicated nearly two years to developing what it claims is the world's fastest ZK scaling technology. The team created Plonky2, a recursive SNARK that is reportedly 100 times faster than other available alternatives on Ethereum.
When the project began in 2019, generating a recursive proof took about two minutes and couldn't be verified on Ethereum. Plonky2 reduces this to just 170 milliseconds on a standard laptop, with native Ethereum compatibility.
Plonky2 merges the advantages of STARKs—rapid proof generation and no trusted setup—with the benefits of SNARKs, such as recursion support and low verification costs on Ethereum. As ZK Layer 2 solutions compete on throughput, latency, and fees, Plonky2 aims to position Polygon Zero as a top contender.
The system will support Solidity code transpiled to ZK bytecode, which executes efficiently within its virtual machine running a STARK.
Development Team
Polygon Zero consists of an eight-member team of cryptographers and engineers distributed across four countries on three continents. Team members bring diverse backgrounds, including engineering experience at major tech firms and advanced degrees from leading research institutions.
Project Timeline
Polygon Zero is targeting a testnet launch in the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by a mainnet deployment.
Introducing Polygon Miden
Core Technology
Polygon Miden is a STARK-based ZK rollup designed to offer low fees and high transaction throughput while preserving Ethereum's security level. Initially, the rollup will support 1,000 to 2,000 transactions per second, potentially reaching 20,000 TPS after Ethereum implements sharding.
The STARK protocol offers several attractive properties: transparency, scalability, no trusted setup requirements, and resistance to quantum computer attacks. STARKs also deliver high performance, often outperforming other proving systems in proof generation and verification times.
Miden centers around the Miden Virtual Machine, which supports arbitrary programs and has been optimized specifically for STARKs. This enables rapid proof generation on consumer hardware, with even better performance on GPUs or FPGAs. The VM abstracts away cryptographic complexities and uses developer-friendly architectural patterns.
Safety is a core principle of Miden VM. It aims to simplify smart contract static analysis and prevent entire classes of bugs by disallowing certain unsafe features available on the EVM.
Although it doesn't emulate the EVM one-to-one, Miden strives for Ethereum compatibility at the Solidity level. Developers should be able to deploy most Solidity smart contracts without modification. Beyond Solidity, Miden will support other blockchain-focused languages like Move and Sway.
Development Team
The project is led by Bobbin Threadbare, the core developer behind Distaff VM and Winterfell, with prior contributions to STARK-based proving systems and support from the Ethereum Foundation.
Project Timeline
Testnet development is planned for the third quarter of 2022, with mainnet work expected to begin in early 2023.
Examining Polygon Nightfall
Core Technology
Nightfall merges Optimistic Rollups with ZK cryptography to enable private transfers and payments at scale. It supports confidential transfers of ERC20, ERC721, and ERC1155 tokens, hiding both recipient and transaction contents. Polygon and EY estimate that Nightfall 3 can reduce ERC20 token transfer gas fees by up to 86% while enhancing privacy.
The protocol optimizes smart contracts by storing only essential data on-chain, moving everything else off-chain. It can achieve approximately 105 transactions per second at about 9,000 gas per transaction.
Transactions currently require a one-week finality period to allow for fraud proofs. However, the team is developing an instant withdrawal mechanism where liquidity providers can offer immediate payout in exchange for a fee, assuming the withdrawal delay on behalf of users.
Development Team
Paul Brody, EY's global blockchain leader, spearheads the project.
Project Timeline
Nightfall moved to the Ropsten testnet in December. The roadmap includes security audits, a restricted-value mainnet deployment, a bug bounty program, and eventually an unrestricted-value deployment.
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Commitment to Zero Knowledge Future
Polygon has made ZK technology a cornerstone of its strategic vision, as outlined in its Zero Knowledge Thesis published in August. The team has committed $1 billion—a significant portion of its treasury—to ZK-related efforts through 2022 and beyond.
While substantial progress has been made in bringing ZK technology to reality, this represents just the beginning of Polygon's ambitious scaling initiatives.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Zero Knowledge proofs?
Zero Knowledge proofs are cryptographic methods that allow one party to prove to another that a statement is true without revealing any information beyond the validity of the statement itself. In blockchain, they enable transaction verification without disclosing sensitive data, enhancing both privacy and scalability.
How does Polygon's approach differ from other ZK solutions?
Polygon has adopted a multi-pronged strategy, investing in several ZK approaches simultaneously rather than focusing on a single solution. This diversified portfolio allows for experimentation with different technical implementations while fostering collaboration between teams working on complementary technologies.
Which Polygon ZK solution should developers choose?
The optimal solution depends on specific use cases. Hermez offers EVM compatibility for easy migration, Miden provides high throughput with STARK technology, Zero delivers exceptional speed with Plonky2, and Nightfall specializes in privacy-focused transactions. Developers should evaluate based on their specific needs for compatibility, performance, and functionality.
When will these technologies be available for mainstream use?
Testnets for various Polygon ZK solutions are rolling out throughout 2022, with mainnet deployments expected from late 2022 through 2023. The timeline varies by project, with Hermez likely being the first to reach mainnet in Q3 2022.
How do ZK solutions improve upon existing scaling approaches?
ZK rollups execute transactions off-chain and submit validity proofs to the main chain, unlike optimistic rollups which assume transactions are valid unless challenged. This approach offers faster finality, better security guarantees, and eliminates the need for lengthy challenge periods, though it requires more complex cryptographic computations.
Are these solutions compatible with existing Ethereum tools?
Compatibility varies by project. Polygon Hermez aims for full EVM compatibility, allowing developers to use existing tools with minimal changes. Other solutions like Miden may require some adaptation but still support popular languages like Solidity. 👉 View real-time development tools