ZK-Rollups and the Decreasing Cost of Proving:
To understand the decreasing cost of proving transactions on zk-rollups as transaction volumes rise, it is essential to delve into the mechanics of zero-knowledge proofs and the architecture of these rollups. zk-rollups, such as ZK-STARKs, utilize cryptographic methods to validate transactions off-chain before submitting them to the Ethereum mainnet in batching.
Batching reduces the number of on-chain transactions, resulting in significantly lower gas fees. As the number of transactions in a batch increases, the cost per transaction decreases, showcasing economies of scale. Notably, zkSync Era, the largest rollup by total-value locked (TVL), recently upgraded its prover to one based on STARK proofs, resulting in more efficient processing of transactions.
Another prominent rollup, Arbitrum, also experienced downtime but managed to maintain lower transaction fees compared to other solutions. By compressing data and processing transactions in batches, rollups can verify a larger number of transactions on the Ethereum mainnet in a single proof. This approach contributes to lower costs and improved scalability for Ethereum.
Lessons Learned and the Future:
The surge in traffic caused some disruptions to zkSync’s RPC services and block explorer. However, the developers at Matter Labs view this as an important stress-test and a significant milestone in bringing Ethereum to a wider audience. Other scaling solutions, such as Polygon’s POS chain, also demonstrated their ability to handle the increased traffic effectively.
The cost of generating proofs for transactions on these rollup solutions remains significantly lower compared to the cost of data availability or cumulative transaction fees. Developers and experts in the field emphasize the need for experimentation and expect the best technical solutions to emerge as the ecosystem evolves.
Despite competition among different solutions, cooperation and commendation are prevalent. Developers and industry participants recognize the collective efforts in pushing the boundaries of scalability and are optimistic about the future of blockchain technology.