ZKSync Hyperchain - ZK's ambitious project

Hyperchain is zkSync's ambitious plan aimed at transforming the blockchain ecosystem, demonstrating zkSync's commitment to providing flexibility and scalability to Blockchain developers.

INSIGHTS

8/6/20246 min read

zkSync Hyperchain

Hyperchain is zkSync's ambitious plan aimed at transforming the blockchain ecosystem, demonstrating zkSync's commitment to providing flexibility and scalability for blockchain developers.

While Arbitrum has recently introduced its own Layer 3 model called Arbitrum Orbit running on Arbitrum Nitro (and eventually Stylus), and Optimism has announced the OP Stack with the vision of a Superchain, zkSync is also developing its own Layer 3 solution known as zkSync L3.

Development History of zkSync

zkSync 1.0 (zkSync Lite)

In June 2020, Matter Labs launched zkSync 1.0, a project that would later be rebranded as zkSync Lite in 2023.

zkSync 1.0 was primarily designed to facilitate basic payments and transfers on Ethereum using zk Rollup technology. Notably, zkSync Lite is not EVM-compatible, which limits its use for more complex applications.

The strength of zkSync Lite lies in its ability to enable significantly faster and cheaper transactions compared to direct transactions on Ethereum. It provides strong security assurances due to its underlying architecture, making it a viable option for users looking to leverage the benefits of scaling solutions while maintaining the integrity and security of their transactions. This foundational model set the stage for further advancements in the zkSync ecosystem, leading to more robust offerings such as zkSync L3 and the broader zkSync Hyperchain initiative.

zkSync 2.0 (zkSync Era)

Building on the experience gained from zkSync Lite, Matter Labs launched zkSync 2.0 in October 2022, which was later rebranded as zkSync Era in February 2023.

zkSync Era is one of the first zkEVM solutions operating on the mainnet, expanding the capabilities of zkSync Lite to support general-purpose applications and smart contracts.

The advantage of zkSync Era is its high compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), enabling developers to easily migrate existing Ethereum smart contracts and dApps to zkSync Era. This compatibility significantly enhances the usability and adoption of zkSync Era, allowing a broader range of applications to benefit from the scaling and efficiency improvements offered by zk Rollup technology.

ZK Stack

ZK Stack is an SDK modularized from the zkSync Era codebase. ZK Stack is designed to allow developers to create custom zk Rollups that address specific use cases and needs.

zkSync Hyperchain

zkSync Hyperchain refers to the collective framework of zkEVM Layer 2 or Layer 3 solutions built on the ZK Stack SDK.

Due to the relatively complex design of zkSync Era, which was initially aimed at creating an EVM-compatible virtual machine, the customization options offered by the ZK Stack are somewhat limited. This limitation encompasses several aspects, including tokenomics, governance models, and the publication location of transaction data (DA, Data Availability).

Similar to Optimism's OP Stack, the ZK Stack is an open-source SDK, granting developers significant freedom without many constraints when utilizing the ZK Stack. This allows them to retain full ownership over their projects.

Hyperchain Shared Bridge

However, Hyperchains can choose to participate in the Shared Bridge, a shared service developed by zkSync that allows all Hyperchains to interact with Ethereum through a single bridge.

The core design of zkSync's Shared Bridge utilizes a technique called Proof Aggregation. This technique aggregates multiple proofs into a single proof. Each input proof is verified as part of the aggregated proof, meaning that the output proof simultaneously represents the validity of all inputs.

Verifying the final proof will validate all related proofs, helping to save gas and reduce verification time on Ethereum.

Hyperchain?

Hyperchains are fractal-like zkEVM versions that operate in parallel, with common settlement on the L1 mainnet.

The term Hyperbridge is derived from the traditional web, where users can navigate web pages through hyperlinks. Similarly, our rollups will be connected through Hyperbridges. Utilizing Hyperchains with shared bridge contracts on L1 and native Hyperbridges between rollups addresses numerous challenges present in other architectures.

  1. Rollups have unreliable validation bridges.

  2. Hyperbridges can easily mint and burn assets for transfer among ecosystem participants.

  3. L1 serves as a single reliable information source, ensuring that rollups cannot undergo hard forking.

  4. The ecosystem can coordinate a hard fork together in the case of discovering vulnerabilities by leveraging governance frameworks on L1, similar to how L1 would respond to a vulnerability.

Hyperchains can be developed and deployed without permission from anyone. However, to maintain reliability and full interoperability, each Hyperchain must be powered by the same zkEVM tool available on the ZK Stack (which currently powers the first hyperchain, zkSync Era).

How Hyperbridges Work

The Hyperbridge itself will consist of a series of smart contracts that verify Merkle proofs of transactions occurring on different chains. The original assets are locked in a shared bridge contract on L1, which means liquidity is unified across the ecosystem. The Hyperbridge will involve the following 7 steps:

  1. A Hyperchain initiates an inter-chain transaction.

  2. The Hyperchain sends its proof for resolution on L1.

  3. Once the proof is resolved, it updates the Transaction Root. This root represents a commitment to all Hyperbridge transactions occurring within the ecosystem.

  4. The receiving Hyperchain will import this Transaction Root through its consensus mechanism, similar to how L1→L2 messages are imported today.

  5. The relayer sends the transaction along with the Merkle Proof that links it to the Transaction Root of the receiving Hyperchain.

  6. The transaction and Merkle Proof are verified against the Transaction Root. If the proof is valid, the transaction will be executed, and the relayer will be rewarded.

  7. The receiving Hyperchain will resolve its proof, where the imported Transaction Root is also verified.

Proof Aggregation

Proof aggregation provides fundamental scalability to the ecosystem. Having a single blockchain is akin to running a single CPU. The existence of multiple Hyperchains operating simultaneously enables parallelization. The proof aggregation mechanism is what allows the ecosystem to achieve mega-scaling.

If each Hyperchain were to resolve its proofs to L1 independently, the total load on L1 would still be directly proportional to the number of Hyperchains. Therefore, the proofs from Hyperchains are aggregated together, allowing all of them to be resolved in a single proof on L1. There are various options for implementing this.

Modularity: Customizing Hyperchains

The primary customization options provided by the ZK Stack are outlined below. Of course, developers are free to implement their own components and customizations.

Hyperchains and Data Availability (DA)

Each Hyperchain can manage its own data availability (DA) policy through a smart contract interface. It can utilize one of the options described below or implement its own logic

Development Status of zkSync Hyperchains

Currently, there are 6 Hyperchain projects under development. Among these, only zkSync Era is operational on the mainnet, while the remaining 5 projects are in the development phase and are expected to launch in the latter half of 2024.

zkSync Era currently has a Total Value Locked (TVL) of approximately $700 million, making it the leading zkEVM with the highest TVL among ZK Rollups (not including TVL from the project's native token). The project is also experiencing significant growth and adoption as it continues to establish itself within the ecosystem.

The activity on zkSync Era has been relatively high, processing a volume of transactions comparable to that of Ethereum. Since the project's mainnet launch, a significant portion of the blockspace has been utilized. This activity currently accounts for nearly half of the usage on zkSync Era and is concentrated around key DEX protocols such as SyncSwap, Mute, Maverick, SpaceFi, and Odos.

zkSync Hyperchain Ecosystem

In addition to zkSync Era, various teams are developing their own zk Rollup/Validium solutions using the ZK Stack. Technically, all Hyperchains are zkEVMs similar to zkSync Era; however, they differ in their intended use cases and development directions.

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