Here we report on the progress of the leading builders in the zkEthereum ecosystem, documenting recent significant releases, technical breakthroughs and general updates
@aztecnetwork has announced the @aztecFND, a nonprofit organization aimed at advancing open-source programmable privacy and supporting the development of Aztec's decentralized, privacy-preserving network: https://azt3c-st.webflow.io/blog/aztec-foundation-launches-to-accelerate-vision-of-programmable-privacy…
The Foundation will fund cryptographic research, assist developers building privacy-focused apps, and maintain @NoirLang, a universal language for ZKPs. Co-founded by @Zac_Aztec and @_ArnaudS_, it aims to create a self-sustaining privacy ecosystem through grants and community collaboration. They are offering grants of up to $150,000 for teams to build privacy-preserving cross-chain bridges on Aztec’s L2 platform. Proposals must include a demo app connecting Aztec with another L2, technical designs, milestones, and budget justifications. Submissions are due by March 16, 2025, with a functional testnet release expected by June 2025 and mainnet launch mid-2025: https://forum.aztec.network/t/request-for-grant-proposals-cross-chain-bridges-up-to-us-150-000/7477
@gwyneth_taiko introduced ULTRA TX, a single, programmable @ethereum L2 transaction designed to enhance L1-L2 interoperability, aggregation, and composability without altering L1. Acting as a “master builder", ULTRA TX simplifies cross-chain interactions, enforces transaction logic, and boosts efficiency with shared proofs. This will enable seamless, scalable Ethereum experiences while supporting gradual adoption and customizable security for users and developers alike: https://ethresear.ch/t/ultra-tx-programmable-blocks-one-transaction-is-all-you-need-for-a-unified-and-extendable-ethereum/21673…
@taikoxyz has renamed its mainnet to 'Taiko Alethia', reflecting its commitment to Ethereum’s core values of truth, decentralization, and openness. As the first based rollup, Taiko has processed 550 million transactions since May 2024 without centralized sequencers. Alongside Taiko Gwyneth, Alethia will drive scalable, censorship-resistant Ethereum solutions: https://taiko.mirror.xyz/SGqEPPMGDX47s2ix9YsyPtq5KnUQcQ_7Gsha-gQGXTc…
Following the announcement, @alethiataiko released BCR Protocol v1.12.0 and updates to Taiko clients. Mainnet node operators should have upgraded their software by Feb 13, 2025, with full release details available on GitHub: https://github.com/taikoxyz/taiko-mono/releases/tag/taiko-alethia-client-v0.43.1
@Starknet OS audit by @fcremo of @Zellic_io uncovered a potential opcode inconsistency in the Cairo VM between the sequencer (RustVM) and prover (Cairo AIR). Although no security risk existed, as it only affected deprecated CairoZero contracts, an immediate fix was applied in version 0.13.3 by adding checks to RustVM, ensuring Starknet’s continued security and reliability: https://community.starknet.io/t/remediating-a-potential-sequencer-prover-inconsistency-in-the-cairo-vm/115313?ref=blog.lambdaclass.com…
They also introduced SNIP-X, an API standard for integrating with applicative paymaster services, aiming to simplify interactions and prevent interface fragmentation. The proposal outlines a JSON-RPC interface for fee handling, supports multiple protocol versions, and emphasizes user inspection of fee data for security: https://community.starknet.io/t/snip-x-applicative-paymaster-api-standard/115308/1…
In addition, The @StarknetFndn introduced a Grants Program offering funding and support for developers at @EthereumDenver. With grants up to $25,000 for early-stage projects and $1 million for growth-stage teams, the program aids in building, scaling, and launching Starknet-based applications through technical mentorship and ecosystem resources: https://starknet.io/blog/starknet-foundation-grants-get-up-to-speed-at-ethdenver/…
In @StarkWareLtd news, @EliBenSasson (CEO) shared a post in which he acknowledged Starknet’s low adoption despite its leading ZK technology. Plans for 2025 include scaling to 10,000 TPS, integrating Bitcoin and @ethereum for simultaneous settlements, enhancing decentralization with staking, and improving user and developer experiences. Overall, StarkWare have committed to focusing on ecosystem growth and supporting new innovative dApps to fuel mass adoption: https://x.com/EliBenSasson/status/1887836542401491117
@zksync-powered @unionchain_io has launched, aiming to bridge crypto and traditional finance. Backed by top Southeast Asian exchanges, Union Chain offers regulated tokenization, payments, and enterprise solutions. The platform ensures secure transactions, fiat integration, and broad market access, enhancing digital asset adoption through zkSync’s scalable and secure blockchain technology: https://zksync.mirror.xyz/gAYMS8ZMXXVyyC8x5Sxv_D8do1QLIzjfE_WM50z0yg0…
Also, @zkSyncDevs announced a platform upgrade on the zkSync Era Sepolia testnet, affecting transaction receipt RPC methods. The ContractAddress field will now only be set for direct deployment transactions via ContractDeployer methods. Developers using Factory contracts should emit events for contract addresses. Mainnet deployment timing is to be decided: https://x.com/zkSyncDevs/status/1890247279879286843…
In other zkSync Era news, the platform has adopted ChonkyBFT, a new in-house developed and formally verified consensus algorithm. It offers single slot finality, one voting round, and fault tolerance, drawing from FaB Paxos and Hotstuff protocols. Future plans include staking and rotating block proposers for decentralized sequencing: https://x.com/zkSyncDevs/status/1889774095874576640…
Finally, zkSync announced their 2025 DevEx roadmap, which addresses past issues of prioritizing quantity over quality, limited transparency, and unclear planning. The team aims to enhance developer experience by focusing on quality, transparency, and structured planning. Key initiatives include cross-chain interoperability, stable releases with clear schedules, improved communication, expanded Smart Sign-On, and a Foundry-zksync 1.0 release, supported by @the_matter_labs and community contributors: https://zksync.mirror.xyz/qg2nMTfnZdvxF6Sou6bSgjXLlNiTYBZ_MgebRhpo_X8
@0xPolygon shared a 2024 report from @MessariCrypto, covering details of Polygon's @Agglayer v0.2 testnet, Polymarket volume, the MATIC transition to POL, and much more. Their institutional partnerships expanded, and Polygon ranked eighth in blockchain developer activity with 1,240 active developers: https://messari.io/report/state-of-polygon-q4-2024…
Polygon's Agglayer development has progressed with its Unified Bridge and pessimistic proofs going live, with further development including multistack support and fast interoperability, enabling cross-chain transactions in seconds: https://x.com/Agglayer/status/1889769762571297270…
Additionally, Polygon Labs has released Bor v2.0.0-beta for Polygon Amoy, introducing a path-based storage scheme incompatible with previous hash-based storage. Users must manually configure the storage scheme if using HBSS. The update includes bug fixes, performance improvements, and contributions from new developers. Instructions for upgrading nodes and verifying the version are provided: https://forum.polygon.technology/t/bor-v2-0-0-beta-release/20567…
Lastly, Polygon Labs has released Heimdall v1.2.0, including updates from PIP-52 and PIP-55, activated via Jorvik and Danelaw hardforks at block 22393043 on Feb 13, 2025. Users must back up configs, stop services, install the update, verify the version, and restart services: https://forum.polygon.technology/t/heimdall-v1-2-0-release/20554
@MantaNetwork introduces a dual-layer solution to tackle slow finality in L2 optimistic rollups. By integrating MANTA token staking through @symbioticfi’s protocol and Bitcoin staking via @babylonlabs_io, transactions achieve faster finality without compromising security.
Validators swiftly confirm state roots, reducing withdrawal times from days to hours. This architecture enhances scalability, efficiency, and decentralization while leveraging Bitcoin’s security and progressively incorporating fraud and ZKPs: https://mantanetwork.medium.com/achieving-fast-finality-on-manta-network-a-dual-layer-approach-84f1ee74375b
@Scroll_ZKP has announced its Security Council, a decentralized body overseeing protocol upgrades, emergency actions, and governance integrity. Comprised of 12 members from diverse organizations and regions, the Council operates through a 9-of-12 multisig system. Members, split into two cohorts with staggered terms, include @shenhaichen, @l2beat, @OpenZeppelin, @thegaram33,@yoavw, @zellic_io, @0xRajeev, @fredriksvantes, @gauntlet_xyz, @LefterisJP, @leonardoalt and @0xshield3: https://scroll.io/blog/introducing-scroll-security-council…
They have partnered with @chainlink, @TenderlyApp, and @EverclearOrg to enhance @ethereum scaling and DeFi development. Chainlink Data Streams power low-latency market data, Tenderly provides a full-stack Web3 infrastructure, and Everclear enables seamless cross-chain operations. Together, these integrations empower developers to build high-performance, user-friendly dApps and drive innovation within Scroll’s Open Economy: https://scroll.io/blog/chainlink-standard-for-low-latency-market-data
@nil_foundation published an article in which they highlighted the need for scalable, trustless blockchains as global financial systems adopt public blockchains. They criticize current vertical scaling methods, emphasizing that blockchain adoption will outpace hardware advancements. To address this, =nil; introduces zkSharding, an @ethereum L2 solution that uses ZKPs for horizontal scaling, enabling parallel smart contract execution across shards, improving scalability, and maintaining security through Ethereum’s settlement layer: https://x.com/nil_foundation/status/1889027301066805695
Co-founder @KakarotZkEvm, @ClementWalter announced that the new Kakarot zkEVM is fully fuzz diff tested against @ethereum's EELS reference. Built from the ground up, it is the first zk-native execution layer implementation compatible with any proving system: https://x.com/ClementWalter/status/1887262999532216341…
@HelloTelos has launched SNARKtor on its Testnet, enhancing ZKP processing for Web3. This milestone boosts scalability, lowers costs, and enables privacy-focused apps. A ZK-powered Battleship game demo showcased trustless gameplay, on-chain verification, and efficient proof aggregation.
SNARKtor introduces modular architecture, P2P networking, and enhanced security. Its codebase is being progressively open-sourced, starting with the Goldibear repository: https://telos.net/post/snarktor-now-live-on-telos-testnet-milestone-1
@LineaBuild has announced @ai_toad, its first AI-powered intellectual property, launched via APE Accelerator. TOAD aims to foster curiosity and innovation within the blockchain community by offering real-time discussions and insights into the Linea ecosystem: https://linea.mirror.xyz/ltD2jf4fgR9A5IOZ7fjYWCWXYGw_je2u_vny0vMqPRk…
Additionally, Linea have partnered with @ensdomains and other key contributors to advance @ethereum scaling. The collaboration focuses on Namechain and unifying Layer 2 solutions, aiming to strengthen decentralization for ENS and the broader Ethereum ecosystem: https://x.com/LineaBuild/status/1889411748509393153…
@reddio_com has launched its Foundry Program to support developers and companies using its parallel zkEVM blockchain infrastructure: https://blog.reddio.com/introducing-the-reddio-foundry-program/…
The program offers technical support, funding, and exposure for projects in AI, DeFi, and on-chain gaming. Participants can deploy smart contracts, collaborate with Reddio engineers, and showcase innovations to investors and the blockchain community.
@kroma_network has upgraded to version v2.1.1+geth.v0.6.1, transitioning from zkEVM to @SuccinctLabs’s zkVM and adopting Merkle Patricia Trie for state storage: https://blog.kroma.network/kromas-transition-to-zkvm-fault-proof-b8c8d2dc39c6…This shift enhances performance, reduces maintenance complexity, and ensures OP Stack compatibility. Kroma leverages Succinct’s Prover Network for efficient proof generation. Future plans include OP Stack integration, a multi-proof system for bug detection, and establishing decentralized governance through Kroma DAO.
