Coinspeaker
Polygon Labs Joins Hands with NEAR Foundation to Build zKWASM Prover
In a recent development on Wednesday, November 8, Polygon Labs announced its collaboration with NEAR Foundation to develop a zero-knowledge (ZK) prover for Wasm blockchains.
The zkWasm prover will bridge the divide between Wasm-based blockchains and the Ethereum ecosystem. Thus it will help in encompassing an expanding multichain of Polygon CDK networks.
WebAssembly (Wasm) has become a widely adopted framework for running intricate applications within web browsers. It offers performance akin to native computer software and serves as a backbone for various popular web-based services. Within the Web3 landscape, the Wasm Virtual Machine operates as a runtime on blockchains such as Near and Polkadot, distinguishing itself from the Ethereum Virtual Machine.
This zkWasm prover introduces a new runtime designed to generate zero-knowledge proofs, validating the correctness of native Wasm runtime execution. This advancement promises enhanced scalability and increased decentralization, establishing closer ties between NEAR Protocol and Ethereum while granting Wasm-based chains access to Ethereum’s liquidity.
Moreover, developers using Polygon CDK gain an alternative prover choice for launching a Polygon CDK network alongside the existing options. Speaking on the development, Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol said:
“We are very excited to work with Polygon Labs to bring all the benefits of zero-knowledge proofs not just to NEAR but all of Web3. By creating and using the zkWasm prover, NEAR will also improve the scalability and decentralization of the NEAR L1.”
Contributing to Polygon CDK
In this significant partnership, the NEAR Foundation aligns with Polygon Labs as a central contributor to the Polygon CDK (Chain Development Kit). The introduction of a zkWasm prover is set to provide developers using Polygon CDK with enhanced customizability. Additionally, this kit comprises an assortment of open-source software components, streamlining the process of crafting and launching ZK-powered Layer-2 solutions on the Ethereum network.
Looking ahead, a forthcoming interop layer will grant chains the opportunity to potentially unite within a cohesive ecosystem of Layer-2 networks deployed via Polygon CDK. This ecosystem extends its reach across various layer-1 blockchains, EVM-based Layer-2 solutions, and Wasm-based chains, offering diverse integration options in the future. Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon said:
“We are proud to collaborate with NEAR on this exciting research initiative to further drive the development and adoption of ZK technology. The zkWasm prover maximizes developer customizability, which means projects will be able to select from a number of provers when building with Polygon CDK, whether that’s launching or migrating an EVM chain, or building a Wasm chain for closer Ethereum alignment and access to liquidity.”
MATIC Price Rally
Poygon’s native cryptocurrency MATIC has entered a strong price rally along the broader crypto market. In the last 24 hours, the MATIC price is up by over 8% and currently trading at $0.82 with a market cap of $7.6 billion.
Photo: Santiment
On-chain data provider Santiment also noted that Polygon has experienced a consistent uptrend, reaching $0.80 and boosting its market capitalization by an impressive 54% in just three weeks. Notably, over the past two weeks, key wallets holding 100,000 to 10 million MATIC have actively contributed to this surge by accumulating the cryptocurrency.
Polygon Labs Joins Hands with NEAR Foundation to Build zKWASM Prover
