Ye Zhang, co-founder of Scroll, discusses the efficiency of EVM-compatible zero knowledge provers and the timeline of ideating Scroll. They also talk about the challenges of hardware limitations for zk tech and the decision to make Scroll EVM-compatible. The podcast explores building the Scroll community, data availability, validiums and security tradeoffs, L2 bridges and interoperability, and the roadmap of Scroll.
Scroll aims to provide a seamless and secure scaling solution for Ethereum by maintaining compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) for maximum usability and access to the EVM ecosystem.
The team at Scroll leverages the improved efficiency of ZK technology to make proving operations faster and more scalable, while remaining focused on EVM compatibility.
Scroll acknowledges the importance of decentralization in both sequencing and proving aspects of layer 2 scaling, and is exploring options for achieving decentralization for enhanced security and censorship resistance.
Deep dives
Scroll's Approach to Scalability and Security
Scroll, a layer 2 scaling solution, aims to provide a seamless and secure scaling solution for Ethereum. The team focuses on maintaining compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to ensure developers can reuse familiar tools and code. This approach allows for maximum usability and ensures access to the vibrant EVM ecosystem. By leveraging the improved efficiency of ZK (zero-knowledge) technology, the team at Scroll aims to make proving operations faster and more scalable. While other roll-ups have chosen different virtual machine models, Scroll believes in the security, compatibility, and tooling advantages that come with EVM compatibility.
Scroll's Founding Story and Team Collaboration
Scroll was founded in early 2021, with a team consisting of co-founders Yeh, Sandian, and Hye Chen. They initially met online through the Ethereum community and shared a common goal of scaling Ethereum with layer 2 solutions. With backgrounds in academic research, business, and engineering, the team embarked on a journey to build Scroll. They collaborated with others working on similar ideas, including Barry from the Eason Foundation. While different teams chose different design choices, including stark-based approaches, Scroll remained focused on the EVM compatibility, open-source collaboration, and turning their ideas into a usable and scalable system.
Decentralization and Future Plans
Scroll acknowledges the need for decentralization in both the sequencing and proving aspects of layer 2 scaling. While initially using a centralized sequencer, they recognize the benefits of decentralizing this component to enhance real-time censorship resistance and security. They are exploring the potential legal and technical options for achieving this decentralization. Regarding data availability, Scroll remains committed to posting all transaction data on Ethereum for maximum security. While there may be trade-offs for cost optimization, Scroll prioritizes preserving the highest security possible for fundamental and secure applications. They are also exploring data compression techniques to reduce on-chain data size. In the future, Scroll envisions the possibility of layer 3 solutions building on top of them while maintaining the highest security standards.
Security and Testing Preparations
Before launching the product, the podcast episode highlights the importance of extensive security measures and testing. The team paid significant attention to security monitoring systems and conducted stress tests by replaying transactions from various chains in their testing environment. They also allocated considerable resources to internal and external bug hunting, as well as contract auditing. Additionally, they set up a bug bounty program to encourage the community to report any system vulnerabilities.
Building a Developer and Regional Community
The podcast episode discusses the importance of developer and regional community building. The team aims to collaborate with engineers, researchers, and application developers to foster an open and collaborative community. They organize events and workshops to dive deep into the architecture and development of applications using zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). They also focus on attracting developers and users by offering unique scroll or NFT rewards and creating a welcoming and supportive environment for developers to deploy their applications. Furthermore, they plan to establish regional community hubs in Turkey, Nigeria, Malaysia, and Argentina, targeting areas with real-world problems that can be solved using blockchain technology.
"The advancements of zero knowledge proving technology, hardware acceleration and proof recursion have significantly increased the efficiency of EVM-compatible zk provers. As a result, the former tradeoff in efficiency implied by EVM-compatibility is gradually improving. Translating Ethereum’s virtual machine bytecode ensures seamless scaling for applications, without the need for additional audits and security compromises.
We were joined by Ye Zhang, co-founder of Scroll, to discuss the EVM-compatible zero knowledge landscape and how Scroll aims to stay true to Ethereum’s values and community.
Topics covered in this episode:
Ye’s background in zk research
Hardware limitations for zk tech
Founding Scroll
Why Scroll went for EVM compatibility
Efficiency of EVM- vs. non-EVM-compatible zk provers
The timeline of ideating Scroll
Scroll mainnet launch
Building the Scroll community
Scroll token
Sequencer decentralisation
Data availability, validiums and security tradeoffs
dYdX Foundation: The recently launched dYdX chain features new governance and token economics, that empower stakers and promote validator decentralisation. Bridge your DYDX tokens and contribute to the evolution of dYdX chain, fully permissionless and community driven. - https://bit.ly/47kqG59
This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/522
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
