• Polygon launches recursive proof Plonky2 to increase scalability on the Ethereum network.
• The L2 scaling solution also announced the launch of one zk-rollup Hermez in Q2, 2022.

Polygon (MATIC) has now launched a recursive SNARK (Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) known as Plonky2. This development falls in line with its mission of bringing scalability to Ethereum by supporting ZK Rollups. 

Plonky2 is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), and it blends PLONK and FRI to make the best of STARKS (Scalable Transparent Argument of Knowledge). Additionally, it boasts of being 100 times faster than existing alternatives with recursion support. For instance, on fast computers such as Macbook Pro, Plonky2 works out its recursive proof in just 170 milliseconds. Users can speed up proofing times if they don’t require recursion.

The technology, as the Polygon team notes, has no trusted setup and can be more decentralized. Moreover, since it is less resource-intensive, it reduces verification costs on Ethereum. 

Polygon launches Plonky2 scaling tech

Layer-2 (L2) scaling solutions using ZK technology have been received with a lot of hype. However, since they mostly rely on cryptographic primitives, they turn out inefficient and with scalability limits. This has heightened competition among L2’s for the best throughput and network costs. 

Plonky2, is now what Polygon calls “a breakthrough for the entire space.” It

places the network  ahead of its rivals by allowing the development of a more superior L2. The blog by Polygon highlights;

Until 2014, recursion was merely theoretical. In 2019, recursive proofs took 120 sec to generate. In 2020, recursive proofs on Ethereum took 60 sec to generate. Now, with Polygon Zero, recursive proofs on Ethereum take only 0.17 sec to generate,

Hermes to go live on mainnet

Sanket Shah, head of strategy at Polygon, also recently made another huge announcement for the network. In August, Polygon merged with the roll-up platform Hermez Network in a $250 million deal. Now, the network plans to launch Polygon Hermez on the mainnet in Q2, 2022.

Notably, the solution’s initial version will only support value transfer without EVM compatibility. Full compatibility will come with the launch of V2.

Gas fees on Polygon rose in October, according to co-founder Sandeep Nailwal. The idea was to outprice users conducting spam transactions on the platform. However, this also affected users with genuine transactions. Additionally, increased activity of the Polygon-based play-to-earn ecosystem Sunflower Farmers also led to a spike in transaction fees. The launch of Hermez is expected to bring some degree of respite in terms of fees.

Last year, Polygon underwent major milestones – a pace it has begun to set again just 10 days into the new year. CNF recently covered why these developments might just pave the way for a $10 MATIC by year’s end. MATIC at writing time was priced at $2.16, up 0.9 percent in the day.