This article is a community submission. The author is Kenny Li, co-founder of Manta Network, a programmable privacy Layer 1 protocol powered by zero-knowledge proof technology.
zkEVMs make it easy to deploy both existing and new Ethereum projects using ZKPs to enhance the Ethereum ecosystem.when they first proposed the network in 2014. In recent years, however, ZKP has gained attention and is expected to play a much more prominent role in the blockchain space. As such, efforts to combine ZKP technology and Ethereum’s virtual machine have intensified.
The security of zk-rollups comes from ZKP cryptography, where cryptographic means are used to verify proof and achieve trustlessness. This is different from other rollups such as All nodes involved in maintaining Ethereum exist to ensure continuity and consensus, which allows each node to see the exact current state. EVM plays a critical role in maintaining this consistency.EVM doesn’t support ZKPs by default. zkEVM aims to ensure Ethereum state continuity while providing proof that all the information is correct. This way, the various factors involved in the computation of these processes are verified while maintaining security and privacy.
Because of EVM’s compatibility feature, developers can build new products using existing EVM tools and programming language, Solidity, while enjoying the enhanced security that comes with zkEVM. The same benefits apply to users as well — they can continue using the same DApps and familiar tools but with added security and privacy.When a blockchain is referred to as EVM-compatible, it means that it offers an environment that can deploy DApps written in the Solidity programming language.
To use an operating system analogy, EVM equivalence is akin to restoring files and settings through Apple Cloud if a user’s previous computer and new computer both run on Apple’s operating system.