The Ethereum network has seen significant advancements over the past year, with key milestones being reached along its roadmap. The introduction of EIP-4844, also known as Dencun, brought about the implementation of blobs and proto-danksharding, resulting in a substantial reduction in data storage costs for Layer 2 solutions and a significant decrease in transaction fees.
Layer 2 solutions, particularly of the optimistic variety, have become more integrated and widely used in applications, enabling transactions to be conducted for minimal costs and enhancing Ethereum’s underlying infrastructure. Despite these improvements, Ethereum continues to face congestion issues, especially as the real-world usage of blockchains increases, leading to a higher demand for block space and computational power.
To address these challenges, moving a significant portion of computation off-chain while still providing a verifiable proof of data correctness and integrity is essential. Zero-knowledge proofs offer a promising solution, but verifying transactions with numerous possibilities in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) can be costly and challenging. Zk-rollups, in particular, require specialized hardware for generating ZK proofs and converting them into a format compatible with Ethereum.
Rollup ecosystems have differing perspectives on how to approach proof verification. While major Layer 2 ecosystems prefer to verify all ZK proofs on the same chain to distribute costs across users, rollup-as-a-service (RaaS) providers advocate for a modular approach to proof verification to cater to small and medium-sized projects with limited budgets.
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) faces limitations in handling zero-knowledge elliptic curves efficiently due to its restricted support for mathematical operations on a single curve. This constraint hinders developers from choosing the most suitable zk-SNARK for their applications, potentially leading to inefficiencies and higher costs. While it is technically feasible for Ethereum to adopt more advanced precompiles over time, the process can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.
At Horizen Labs, efforts are underway to address these challenges by offering modular proof verification through zkVerify and developing a fully EVM-compatible chain with support for the latest zero-knowledge precompiles. Horizen 2.0, built on Substrate, allows for seamless upgrades without the need for node-side work or hard forks.
In conclusion, evolving the EVM with zero-knowledge capabilities is crucial for accommodating the growing demand for blockchain applications. By leveraging innovative solutions and collaborating with industry stakeholders, Ethereum can enhance its scalability and efficiency to support the next wave of adoption.