How does Rollup work, and why is it important to Ethereum’s scalability?

Rollups are at the heart of Ethereum’s layer 2 protocols as the fundamental underlying technology. A zero-knowledge proof approach is utilized by a number of rollup solutions. These kinds of technological advancements are collectively referred to as ZK-Rollups.

The utilization of rollups makes it possible to both guarantee a high level of transaction privacy and scale the primary Ethereum network: a number of transactions are rolled up into a singular package, and this package is then confirmed in the blockchain that is at the first level.

What are the Benefits of Using ZK-Rollups technology?

In the beginning, anonymous cryptocurrency projects were the primary users of zero-knowledge proofs. However, in recent years, these proofs have gained widespread use as potential solutions for scaling Ethereum.

You are able to process user data using ZK-Rollups without revealing any private information about the users themselves. In particular, the algorithm has the capacity to assess whether or not funds are available without displaying the user’s current amount. These characteristics are essential for organizations that have a duty to safeguard the privacy of their clients.

Additionally, the utilization of solutions that are based on ZK-Rollups results in a large reduction in transaction fees. Multiple translations are rolled into a single package, after which the data in both are compressed. For instance, an index is substituted for an address in the package. This enables you to save a smaller amount of information on the blockchain’s initial level. Because the costs are distributed evenly across all senders, individual users have lower overall costs.

Due to the fact that the smart contract verifies the correctness of the data prior to adding the package to the blockchain, ZK-Rollups minimize the amount of time spent waiting for cash to be withdrawn to the primary network.

How many different kinds of ZK proofs exist?

There are many different ways that ZK rollups can be implemented, the most common of which are ZK-SNARKs (and the Plonky2 variant of this implementation), ZK-STARKs, zkSync, and others. Verification using each of these approaches requires a different amount of computational resources due to the varying sizes of the “proofs” required.

ZK-SNARK

The ZK-SNARK protocol generates a confirmation that is both compact and straightforward to validate. Elliptic curves are used as evidence in this case. Because computing their values is a less time-consuming process than hashing, the algorithm is also less time-consuming. The evidence must be destroyed as soon as it is delivered back because it is a requirement of the procedure. In order for the method to function properly, each node must first generate a public key and then a private key, after which the private key must be discarded. The public key is put to use in the process of creating a new set of keys. In addition, the confirmation is generated using the private key, while the public key is used to validate the confirmation.

ZK-STARK

ZK-STARKs are used to construct proofs that do not require the verifier and the verifier to interact with one another in any way. The amount of time spent validating data is decreasing, which makes it simpler to scale the technology. The fact that the technique uses hashing makes it immune to attacks using quantum computers.

ZK Sync

A rollup algorithm with the same name as the zkSync protocol serves as the foundation for the L2 protocol known as zkSync. The platform facilitates both the transfer of assets and smart contracts, and it also allows asset transfers. One of the characteristics of the algorithm is that it has a low gas limit per transaction, which does not go above 500 Gwei. The compatibility of zkSync 2.0 with the Ethereum Virtual Machine is the primary benefit of using this version.

How Does ZERO Knowledge Work?

In 1985, two academics named Shafi Goldwasser and Silvio Micali published an essay titled “Knowledge Complexity of Interactive Proof Systems” in which they proposed the concept of zero-knowledge proof, also known as ZKP. They suggested a strategy for proving the legitimacy of a message without disclosing the content of the message itself.