Polygon Labs acquires ZK builder Toposware for unified web3

Polygon Labs, a contributor to the Ethereum ecosystem, elevated its zero-knowledge funding to $1 billion with the acquisition of startup Toposware.

Polygon Labs, the entity behind the MATIC ecosystem, has added the $30 million valued blockchain builder Toposware to its zero-knowledge (ZK) improvement arsenal.

Zero-knowledge is a cryptographic know-how that permits blockchains to verify transactions with out revealing particulars concerning the senders or recipients. The corporate has change into a frequent employer of the proof system for scaling its Ethereum-based Layer-2 networks.

The acquisition leverages Toposware’s 11 engineers and improvement stack for what the MATIC developer describes as a “unified web3” imaginative and prescient. It’s the third step on ZK know-how after the acquisition of Hermez and Mir in 2021.

Broader implications for Polygon’s ecosystem

The businesses may boast a long-term collaboration because of joint work on a Kind 1 zkEVM tester. Kind 1 zkEVM provers enable any Ethereum Digital Machine suitable community to transition to ZK-proof primarily based chains, bettering connectivity and operability with the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet.

The acquisition of Toposware additionally signifies that the Polygon proof-of-stake (PoS) community will be part of AggLayer, a decentralized protocol that mixes a cryptocurrency bridge and a ZK mechanism to extend interoperability between the chains.

Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, stated Toposware’s “deep cryptography and zero-knowledge experience” are an ideal match for advancing the ecosystem and inspiring extra open supply contributions throughout the Ethereum neighborhood.

The deal with ZK know-how additionally builds on a rising trade choice as a scaling mechanism for EVM chains. Along with ZK-proof, builders even have the choice to make use of optimistic rollups to construct L2 networks.

Expertise stacks are attempting to attain the objective of the sport: making all EVM chains simpler to make use of for each builders and customers with out compromising safety and decentralization. Nevertheless, consultants like Vitalik Buterin have favored ZK know-how forward of optimistic roll-ups, touting the previous as a less expensive and quicker providing.