ZK Rollups and Scaling

ZK rollups execute transactions off Ethereum, batch the results, and post a validity proof to L1. If the proof verifies, the L2 state transition is accepted — no week-long challenge period like optimistic rollups.

A zkEVM proves that EVM execution was correct — developers deploy existing Solidity with minimal changes. zkSync, Scroll, Polygon zkEVM, and others compete on proving speed, EVM compatibility, and ecosystem liquidity.

Proof generation is CPU-intensive. Prover networks, GPUs, and ASICs drive costs down over time. EIP-4844 blobs reduced data posting costs; proving remains the next bottleneck. As proving cheapens, more activity migrates to ZK L2s with strong security guarantees.