Matter Labs’ zkSync Era, a zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup technology focused on scaling Ethereum, has been increasingly drawing capital, with the total value locked (TVL) exceeding $500 million recently. According to data from L2Beat, this marks a 12% growth in just one week, highlighting the demand for advanced scaling solutions in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. zkSync Era currently stands as the third-largest rollup by TVL, trailing behind its competitors, Arbitrum and Optimism.
The rollup solution retains compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), while offering native account abstraction, which could contribute to its growing popularity. At the time of writing, more than 220,000 ether (ETH), around $378.3 million, 121 million USDC (a dollar-pegged stablecoin), and 14.43 million MUTE ($7.53 million) were locked on the platform. MUTE serves as the native cryptocurrency for the zkRollup-based decentralized exchange, Mute.
Following its launch in March 2023, zkSync Era has seen a steady increase in daily active addresses, averaging 175,000 over the past four weeks. The growth in user demand for rollups can potentially be attributed to Ethereum core developers prioritizing the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844. According to Galaxy Digital, EIP 4844 could introduce a new transaction type on Ethereum that accepts data “blobs,” reducing transaction fees on rollups.
With Ethereum’s upcoming Cancun/Deneb upgrade set to activate sometime in Fall or Winter next year, the focus on EIP 4844 is a testament to the significance of rollups for the long-term scalability of Ethereum. Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, stated in a newsletter that dapps built on Ethereum would need to migrate most of their operations to cost-effective rollups eventually.
The recent introduction of liquid staking solution Rocketpool on zkSync Era has further extended the list of decentralized applications moving to layer 2 platforms. However, it’s not just zkSync Era that is experiencing a surge in activity — other ZK rollups such as Starknet and Polygon zkEVM are also in the spotlight. This trend has led some experts to predict a Zk season on the horizon, suggesting that ZK rollups could significantly outperform other market sectors in the near future.
In conclusion, the success and growth of Matter Labs’ zkSync Era and other ZK rollup technologies indicate a shift in the blockchain landscape, as users and developers seek more efficient and cost-effective means of scaling Ethereum and the broader DeFi ecosystem. With the upcoming Ethereum upgrades and the continued focus on EIP 4844, it remains to be seen how these rollup solutions will shape the future of Ethereum and the larger blockchain-based financial systems.
Source: Coindesk
