Polygon, an Ethereum scaling project, has scheduled the launch of its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) beta main network for March 27.
Polygon did not explain what the beta network will entail in the official blog post but did note that the team will be sharing additional details leading up to the launch date and that network security will be of the utmost importance.
“Users and developers can expect full transparency about the security measures that will protect the Ethereum community during Mainnet Beta,” stressed the announcement.
Roses are red 🌹
Violets are blue
Poems are hard 😩
Mainnet Beta is hereON MARCH 27, Polygon #zkEVM launches the future of Ethereum scaling
🚢💜🚢💜https://t.co/OqSOYTn8Uv pic.twitter.com/kpXavea3ff
— Polygon (@0xPolygon) February 14, 2023
With the same goals as its competitors, Solana and XRP, which offer quicker transaction speeds, Polygon zkEVM is a ground-breaking technology that promises to speed up blockchain transactions and lower their costs.
ZK roll-ups are distinct from optimistic roll-ups in that they do not require the delay period mechanism, which slows down transactions. As an alternative, zkEVMs provide cryptographic proofs to hasten the processing of transactions before they are delivered back to layer 1 networks.
Polygon zkEVM Hits Some Important Milestones
The Polygon Labs launched a zkEVM testnet last year, and according to Polygon Labs, it “has been groundbreaking from the beginning” and provided the world with the first look at seamless scaling for Ethereum.
Per a roadmap diagram released by the team, the testnet has reached a number of significant milestones. Prior to its debut, Polygon touted several achievements, including the deployment of over 5,000 smart contracts, 75,000 ZK proofs, and the presence of more than 84,000 wallets on its network.
According to Polygon Labs, “it’s time to start the revolution to unlock mass adoption and the full potential of Web3,“ with the introduction of the zkEVM Mainnet beta in March.
In addition, the Polygon team asserts that the Polygon zkEVM is the gold standard for EVM-equivalence, as it has passed all the applicable Ethereum test vectors for zkEVMs.
This enables developers to copy-paste code from Ethereum and use it to build on Polygon zkEVM without changing anything—all Ethereum tools work smoothly with Polygon zkEVM, as the team claims.
Following the announcement, MATIC, Polygon’s native coin, increased by more than 10% to $1.37. Despite falling over 88% during the crypto winter of last year, MATIC gained from the market’s comeback in January, rising over 60%.
Meanwhile, one can’t specifically assert that the zkEVM Mainnet Beta announcement triggered the price surge, as the entire crypto market has apparently recovered over the last 24 hours. While Bitcoin (BTC) has increased by over 11% and is heading towards $25,000—currently at $24,700—the global market cap has also surged by 8.83% in the last day, according to Coinmarketcap data.
