Thread by @thehiddenmaze

2023 is a MASSIVE year for

• ZKP
• Rollups
• Modular

Knowing these narratives early can easily result in financial freedom if one does the work.

🧵👇Here is a breakdown of the narrative and 20+ projects

👂Too busy to read?
👂⬇️ Listen to AI Chloe while browsing.

The upcoming years are shaping up to be a battle of ZK, Rollups and highly modular projects.

But what the hell are zero snark(y) and optimistic roll ups? And why does it matter?

In this thread I‘ll explain:

W h a t?
W h y?

8 interesting zk, rollup and modular projects (Released)

8 upcoming zk, rollup and modular projects

W h a t ?

A part of ZK is hailed as the next big solution in scaling Ethereum. But that isn‘t the whole picture

ZK Proof technologies are a broad field and the movement has spawned many variants to address proof of ownership, privacy enabled identity verification & scalability

As an investor you will encounter these phrases:

ZK Dapps
ZK Snarks
Zk Rollup
Optimistic Rollup
ZK Starks
Monolithic vs Modular

In General:

ZK proofs allow

one party (the prover)
to prove to another (the verifier)

that a statement is true, without revealing any information beyond the validity of the statement itself.

ZK Snarks vs ZK Starks

Both technologies tackle the issue above in different ways.

While there are many other solutions, those two are the giants battling it out in the public eye.

But there is no king to rule them all.

Each has benefits
Each has downsides

ZK-rollups

are layer 2 scaling solutions that increase throughput on #ETH by moving computation and state-storage off-chain.

ZK-rollups process thousands of transactions in a batch and then only post some minimal summary data to Mainnet.

This summary data defines the changes that should be made to the Ethereum state

and

some cryptographic zk snark/stark proof that those changes are correct.

Optimistic Rollups vs ZK Rollups

Key Difference:
Optimistic = relies on fraud proofs
ZK = Relies on Zero Knowledge Proofs

Scalabilty
Optimistic = Linear
ZK = Exponential

Implementation
Optimistic = Easier to implement
ZK = Harder to implement but broader features

Modular Blockchains

Most Blockchains we have today are monolithic, which means they are formed from and consist of a single block.

Modular Blockchains are more like legos, meaning you can change out data availability, execution and consensus parts

They allow you to define your own environment and the question of this type of rollup or that type of ZKP becomes kind of redundant

as future modularity increasingly allows you to build a flexible lego castle that doesn't shoehorn you into a rigid monolithic system.

Note:

While rollups are modular this section focuses specifically on projects that push the boundary more than others into extensive architecture modularity.

Great article from @0xAlec for those who want to dive deeper.

volt.capital/blog/modular-b…

W H Y ?

Scaling, privacy and flexibility are hip. Harder, better, faster, stronger

What happens if major existing/upcoming players in the industry are announcing to outscale/value the competition with zk, rollups and modularity?

Right.
Everyone else wants to chadify as well.

(ZK) Catalysts

1. @0xPolygon zkEVM mainnet on March 27th

2. Investors are eagerly awaiting @Starknet

3. @zksync is launching it's token soon

4. A ton of ZK Dapps are launching

5. A ton of projects upgrade to ZK

6. Existing ZK projects updates

I expect most rallies and narratives to be shortlived during the bear marktet.

HOWEVER

they represent previews of strong trends leading up to the next bull market.

And with major releases just months away this narrative might reignite several times this year.

Let‘s take a look at released projects first.

ZK projects & Rollups (Released)

@Immutable $IMX
Immutable X is a layer 2 scaling solution on Ethereum aiming to power the next generation of web3 games.

They've already onboarded some of the most anticipated web 3 titles such as:

@GuildOfGuardian
@illuviumio
@PlayEmberSword
@UndeadBlocks

They currently offer two execution layers from @StarkWareLtd , both of which use the ZK rollup batching mechanism.

StarkEx and Starknet

The first is a service provided by the company Starkware

The second is a Smart contract platform where any developer can write and deploy

@Aleph__Zero $AZERO

is a privacy-enhancing, Proof-of-Stake public blockckchain with instant finality.

They intend to implement privacy-enhancing technologies based on zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP)

and secure multi-party computation research in 2023.

@horizenglobal $HZN

is a network of blockchains that uses a recursive ZK- Snark known as Darlin

Blockchain Interoperability is enabled by Zendoo, which leverages SNARK-verification for complete freedom in consensus, speed, and privacy

It also has a massive node infrastructure

@SecretNetwork $SCRT

is built on Cosmos and the first blockchain with customizable privacy.

You get to choose what you share, with whom, and how.

They ensure data privacy by combining encryption methods with key management in a trusted execution environment(TEE)

@MinaProtocol $MINA

they describe themselves as the lightest blockchain bc. its size is intended to remain constant irrespective usage growth

The protocol uses ZK- Snarks which means end users examine that zkS compressed proof rather than a block's complete transaction history

@DuskFoundation $DUSK

is a privacy-oriented blockchain platform for financial applications.

Organizations utilize it to issue tokens that are controlled by privacy-preserving smart contracts since it is powered by zero-knowledge technology.

@syscoin $SYS

is a L1 and L2 blockchain that combines Bitcoin’s Proof of Work and Ethereum Virtual Machine within a single network

Their inhouse rollup suite "Rollux" is designed to offer the best that technology has to offer, including Optimistic and Zero-Knowledge

🧵⬇️⬇️⬇️🧵

@loopringorg $LRC

is an open source zkRollup protocol.

It is a collection of Ethereum smart contracts and ZK circuits that allow devs to build to build highly-secure, scalable orderbook-based DEXes, AMMs, and payment apps.

It was the first rollup protocol deployed on Ethereum

Optimistic Rollups (Released)

@optimismFND #OP

A L2 blockchain that utilizes Ethereum's security guarantees.

It reduces transaction fees and speeds up #ETH transactions with optimistic rollups.

That means transactions are trustlessly recorded on Optimism but ultimately secured on Ethereum.

@MetisDAO #METIS

A Layer-2 platform, that originated as a fork of Optimism.

Its goal is to transform DAOs into DACs, fully operational businesses that can act like established firms but are decentralized.

It uses optimistic rollups to achieve better scalability.

Next up are 8 upcoming ZK, Rollup and Modular projects

But before that: check out @CryptoShlug list below

He listed most already released zk and rollup projects I didn‘t mention

$SKL $ZEN $CELR $BOBA $HEZ $ARRR $TLOS $MUTE $RAIL #CTSI $FIRO $FRA $PIVX $XFT $ZKS $ZKP $CELL

Upcoming ZK Projects

Polgyon zkEVM is the first zk scaling solution that’s fully compatible with Ethereum.

The zkEVM harnesses the power of ZK proofs to reduce transaction cost and massively increase throughput, all while inheriting the security of Ethereum L1.

Launch Date is March 27

@AleoHQ

If Ethereum and Zcash had a Baby it would be called Aleo.

A Layer 1 Blockchain & platform that uses system called ZEXE as foundation (Zero Knowledge EXEcution) to enable private applications.

@aztecnetwork

Aztec Network is a privacy-first zkRollup on Ethereum
Their vision is "encryption for all.

It functions as a privacy engine giving DApps access to privacy and scalability.

Some people compared it to Zcash and even Tornado Cash.

@zksync

They describe themselves as the zkRollup that represents the end-game for Ethereum scaling

With over $400 million in funding and a massively growing ecosystem is going to become one of the most important zk players.

@SuiNetwork

is a permissionless, proof-of-stake Layer 1 blockchain designed from the ground up by ex-Meta engineers.

While they won't integrate private transactions on their own blockchain they support ZKP Apps via API on top of Sui

@StarkWareLtd

StarkNet is a ZK Rollup.

It operates as an L2 network over Ethereum, enabling any dApp to achieve unlimited scale for its computation – without compromising Ethereum's composability and security.

They've raised over $250M and are a strong competitor to Zksync.

@obscuronet

is a general-purpose, privacy-first Ethereum L2 solution that sits between Optimistic and ZK rollups.

It leverages Trusted Execution Environments to benefit from the best of both worlds.

Currently, all rollup solutions are centralized.
Obscuro changes that.

@Scroll_ZKP

Scroll is a zkEVM-based zkRollup on Ethereum that enables native compatibility for existing Ethereum applications and tools.

After successfully building a zkEVM POC, they are now working on their zkEVM Testnet.

Upcoming Optimistic Rollups

@arbitrum #arbitrum

Arbitrum is a layer 2 blockchain designed to improve the capabilities of Ethereum smart contracts.

It utilizes optimistic rollups to log batches of transactions submitted on the Eth chain and execute them on cheap, scalable layer-2 sidechains.

Upcoming high modularity Projects

@0xMantle

Mantle is a suite of #Eth scaling solutions including an optimistic rollup and ZK rollup.

It uses a modular chain and is supported by BitDAO’s native token $BIT.

It is designed to strengthen support for hyper-scaled throughput decentralized applications

@fuellabs_

Blockchain technology is moving away from a monolithic architecture in which execution, data availability, and consensus are all intertwined.

Fuel is trying to develop the fastest execution layer for the modular blockchain stack.

@CelestiaOrg is a modular Blockchain

(like @fuellabs_)

They make it possible for anybody to quickly deploy their own blockchain without the hassle of bootstrapping a new consensus network.

Damn! A lot of projects right? I don't want to keep you just hanging like that!

Here are a few tips, but remember: NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE!! Always do your own research!

How do you decide in what to invest?

1. Invest in quality teams,advisors, venture capital
2. Invest in superior tech
3. Invest based on onchain growth metrics
4. Invest based on narrative strength and hype
5. Invest based on your personal risk tolerance

Be smart about it.

How do you get exposure to unreleased projects?

a) Participate in Testnets (Node, develop, bughunt)

b) Invest in projects that build on their ecosystem

c) Airdrops, ICO, Giveaway

d) Buy the token once publicly available after extensive research

With Narratives in general you have two choiches to make:

You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to

You take the red pill, you stay in Narrative-land, and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes

Thanks for listening, Neo!

Twitter experts that love to do narrative deep dives like this and that I massively respect:

@rektdiomedes
@defi_mochi
@defiprincess_
@TheDeFinvestor
@LouisCooper_
@Chinchillah_
@DefiIgnas
@DeFiMinty
@crypto_condom
@crypto_linn
@CryptoDragonite
@crypthoem
@eli5_defi
@karl_0x