ConsenSys zkEVM set for public testnet to deliver secure settlements on Ethereum

ConsenSys has announced the upcoming merchandise of its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) rollup to a nationalist testnet connected March 28, allowing for accent investigating of the layer-2 scaling technology.

ConsenSys’ probe and improvement squad has been moving connected its zkEVM rollup implicit the past 4 years. The zkEVM is touted to connection accelerated finality, precocious throughput and information of settlements connected the Ethereum blockchain.

A backstage beta launched successful Q4 of 2022 gave aboriginal entree to constricted users, which processed implicit 350,000 transactions and onboarded assorted decentralized applications (DApps). The testnet allowed Solidity developers to build, trial and motorboat DApps portion investigating the zkEVM astatine scale.

— ConsenSys (@ConsenSys) February 23, 2023

ConsenSys zkEVM is the culmination of enactment from teams astatine Infura, Truffle and MetaMask, arsenic good arsenic developers connected Besu and Gnark. Integrations and features of the rollup were aimed to region developer complexity, amended information and expedite onboarding times.

An announcement shared with Cointelegraph highlighted zero switching costs arsenic a payment to projects successful the ecosystem. Developers tin physique connected the zkEVM oregon migrate existing DApps without changing codification oregon rewriting astute contracts. The zkEVM besides uses Ether (ETH) for state fees, cutting retired the request for third-party codification translation and different middleware solutions.

ConsenSys zkEVM integrates with MetaMask, which is aimed to expedite the onboarding of users. Infura integration besides allows developers to vessel DApps astatine scale. Developers volition besides beryllium capable to build, test, debug and deploy Solidity astute contracts with a assortment of furniture 2 developer environments powered by Truffle.

ConsenSys besides aims to support its zkEVM open-source aft launch. Nicolas Liochon, caput of probe and improvement astatine ConsenSys, told Cointelegraph that the extremity of the nationalist beta testnet is to proceedings the strategy nether the aforesaid conditions it would look connected mainnet wherever the stakes are higher.

“Users and developers volition beryllium capable to permissionlessly interact with our exertion stack allowing america to accent trial the strategy nether challenging and adversarial conditions.”

Following integration with the nationalist testnet, ConsenSys volition transportation retired a strategy outgrade. This is aimed astatine laying the instauration for a “highly performant, trustless, and decentralized network,” according to Liochon.

The last upgrade volition besides commencement its auditing and information process to guarantee the zkEVM is harmless and unafraid earlier a mainnet motorboat earmarked to instrumentality spot aboriginal successful 2023.

ConsenSys is successful discussions with starring players successful the Ethereum ecosystem to deploy and integrate with its zkEVM testnet. Liochon highlighted the absorption connected making the scaling rollup EVM-equivalent a cardinal origin successful making it casual for DApps and tools to power to its zkEVM.

Liochon besides said efforts to marque decentralized and trustless applications disposable to the nationalist necessitate simpler and cheaper systems. The zkEVM aims to execute this by gathering a trustless, censorship-resistance, decentralized and performant execution furniture that scales Ethereum.

Collaboration with the wider furniture 2 ecosystems is besides a absorption for ConsenSys. Liochon said the enactment is looking to enactment with innovators successful the abstraction to convene the archetypal zkEVM “multi-prover” rollup.

This benignant of scaling rollup would person aggregate prover implementations generating validity proofs of computation.