Polygon has launched its second public testnet, thereby bringing the platform to the final stages before the mainnet launch. Another zkEVM (zero-knowledge proofs) platform, zkSync, raised $200 million in a Series C funding round last month. The testnet will put a new upgrade called recursion through its paces, with the goal of exponentially scaling Ethereum. As of this moment, Polygon has not provided a timetable for the mainnet launch. Polygon claims to be the first zkEVM scaling technology to achieve public testnet with open-source code for its proving system, which is an essential aspect of operating the zkEVM. Although Polygon claims to be open source, it has previously received criticism from various other zkEVM platforms for its broad usage of the term. Put simply, zkEVMs are a new Ethereum scaling technology which have become very popular over the last year. Although they have yet to be proven, they have the potential to significantly improve transaction costs and speeds for Ethereum, as well as enable on-chain privacy, Additionally, zkEVMs are said to greatly simplify the process of application development. This could pave the way for a slew of new on-chain apps that bridge the gap between physical assets and off-chain data.
