The leading Ethereum software developer firm ConsenSys has announced the testnet launch of its Consensys zkEVM. The new layer-2 blockchain will be Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible and will leverage ZK-Rollup. ConsenSys has developed many infrastructure products for Ethereum that include. Metamask, Infura, Quorum, Truffle, Codefi, and Diligence.
Rollups are an Ethereum scaling solution that processes several transactions off-chain and then merges them into a single transaction on the Ethereum mainnet. The two most popular types of Rollups are Optimistic Rollups and ZK-Rollups. The latter is much more difficult to implement, and the difference lies in the validation mechanism.
ConsenSys To Launch zkEVM Testnet on 28th March
According to the latest announcement, the testnet of the ConsenSys zkEVM will be launched on 28th March. The upcoming blockchain has already successfully completed its beta testing phase, where 490,000 transactions were processed. The process onboarded dozens of dapps on the new L2.
This will be one of the pioneering zero knowledge proof-based layer-2 scaling solutions with instant compatibility for Ethereum dapps. The blockchain will allow the Ethereum mainnet dapps to be deployed on the new zkEVM with minimal effort. The announcement also stated that CoinsenSyc zkEVM would have built-in Metamask, Infura, and Truffle integrations.
Polygon zkEVM vs ConsenSys zkEVM
While optimistic Rollups solutions are already out (Arbitrum, Optimism, etc.) are already out and gaining traction, a proper zkRollup is yet to see the light of day. ConsenSys zkEVM is not the only zero-knowledge L2 under development. In fact, Polygon zkEVM is getting launched in the beta phase a day before the ConsenSys L2 testnet goes live.
This suggests that the competition in this underexplored frontier is getting fierce. zkSync and Scroll are other zk Rollups-based solutions in development. The former has been in restricted internal use since October 2022. ConsenSys has also invited the developers to submit their projects for deployment on the upcoming testnet. The much-awaited solution aims to provide cheap transaction fees while leveraging the complete security of Ethereum.