ConsenSys To Begin Public Test Of Ethereum-Compatible zk-Rollup

ConsenSys has announced that it is set to begin a public test of its zkEVM rollup network. Public testing has been scheduled to commence on the 28th of March, 2023, and will clear the path for an eventual mainnet merger sometime in 2023. 

The announcement was made after the firm completed a private beta phase of its zkEVM network. 

Public Test Set To Begin 

Blockchain development firm ConsenSys has announced that it is set to begin the public testing of its upcoming zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) on a public testnet. The testing is scheduled to begin on the 28th of March and will allow the team to stress-test the layer-2 scaling solution. The zk-rollup network offers scalability solutions by performing off-chain computations on a secondary layer, resulting in faster and cheaper transactions and prioritizing the Ethereum network’s overall security. 

ConsenSys successfully completed the private beta phase of the rollup, which saw the network process over 490,000 transactions from a number of decentralized applications. The testnet enabled Solidity developers to build, test, and launch decentralized applications and test the zkEVM at scale. 

“Onboarding for our zkEVM is in full flow, and activity is at peak levels. We’ve successfully executed 300k total transactions and are processing more than 50,000 transactions per day.”

A Collaborative Effort 

The ConsenSys zkEVM is the result of the culmination of work by a host of teams from MetaMask, Infura, and Truffle and developers on Gnark and Besu. The rollup consists of features and integrations designed to improve security, expedite onboarding times, and remove developer complexity. 

“Our zkEVM is the culmination of years of research by ConsenSys R&D and offers fast finality, high throughput, and the security of Ethereum settlement.”

The announcement by ConsenSys highlighted several benefits, such as zero switching costs, which could be beneficial to projects in the ecosystem. Developers can quickly build on the zkEVM or migrate existing dApps without rewriting smart contracts or changing code. Furthermore, gas fees are charged in ETH, removing the need for third-party code translation. 

Built-In Integrations 

The rollup will also feature a number of integrations with popular Ethereum tools, including RPC Service Infura, Truffle, and the MetaMask wallet. The integration with MetaMask will expedite the onboarding of users, while Infura integration will allow developers to ship decentralized applications at scale. Furthermore, Truffle will allow developers to build, test, debug, and deploy Solidity smart contracts with layer-2 developer environments. 

The zkEVM will also be open-source once it is launched. According to the head of research and development at ConsenSys, Nicolas Liochon, the public beta testnet will allow the team to test the system in the same conditions as that of the mainnet. 

“Users and developers will be able to permissionlessly interact with our technology stack allowing us to stress-test the system under challenging and adversarial conditions.”

Highly Competitive Landscape 

zkEVM technology is the next significant step in Layer-2 solutions. However, most solutions are still in the testing phase. While more scalable than existing solutions such as Arbitrum and Optimism, zk Layer-2 solutions are held back due to a lack of compatibility with Ethereum. Several teams are competing to devise a solution to the issue, including teams from zkSync, Starknet, and Polygon. 

While ConsenSys will be in the testing phase for the foreseeable future, Polygon will be releasing their zkEVM in beta on the Ethereum mainnet on the 27th of March, a day before the ConsenSys public testnet goes live. zkSync has also released an alpha mainnet to onboard select applications. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.