zkSync Era: Everything you need to know about ZK Credo, ZK Stack, & Boojom Upgrade

txFusion Team
txFusion
Published in
4 min readSep 12, 2023

The summer of 2023 was a busy time for zkSync community and developers. During these sunny months, zkSync announced ZK Credo, introduced us to the new framework called ZK Stack, and revealed game changing upgrade called Boojom. These announcements will bring zkSync to the next level, and shape the future of the blockchain world!

Without further ado, let’s get into the details!

About ZK Credo

On June 23, 2023 zkSync has introduced to the world the ZK Credo, a manifesto that outlines the guiding properties and principles for the emerging ZK-powered Internet of Value.

ZK Credo is the declaration of the foundational principles for the emerging ZK-powered network. It’s based on the idea of ZK, which stands for Zero-Knowledge (Proofs), or Zipped by Kryptography. ZK embodies three properties:

  • Integrity — Means doing the right thing and verifying everything
  • Privacy — Respecting your right to control your own data and identity
  • Magic — Using advanced technology to make things simple and seamless

It’s very important to know that “the ZK Credo is not exclusive to zkSync. We’d to see it embraced by the entire Web3 ecosystem, all projects dedicated to ZK tech, and individuals worldwide who believe in the transformative power of self-sovereign digital ownership.”

About ZK Stack

On June 26, 2023, zkSync announced a new framework called ZK Stack. According to Matter Labs, the developers behind zkSync, ZK Stack is a “modular, open-source framework that is both free and designed to build custom ZK-powered L2s and L3s (referred to as Hyperchains), based on the code of zkSync Era.”

The inception of ZK Stack is rooted in the guiding principles of the ZK Credo. While the ZK Credo lays out the guiding principles, ZK Stack takes a direct step toward its realization by offering a practical, modular, open-source solution for blockchain development. By addressing these challenges, ZK Stack emerged as a groundbreaking solution to harness the true potential of ZK technology. It offers developers and enterprises flexibility and control over their blockchain creations. At the heart of ZK Stack lies the zkSync Era, the first and the leading Hyperchain that has been widely used in the Ethereum ecosystem. Its success has built a strong base for the ZK Stack, showing the scalability and reliability of ZK rollups. zkSync Era’s launch and fast adoption prove the power of the ZK Stack’s architecture.

ZK Stack is not just a framework; it’s a vision to change the game of blockchain and solve the current problems. By using the power of ZK technology and principles, this framework unleashes the full potential of decentralized blockchain networks. With sovereign Hyperchains and seamless connectivity, ZK Stack is a pioneer of innovation, leading the way to a future where the internet of value is more accessible, efficient, and secure than ever!

About Boojom Upgrade

On July 17, 2023 zkSync introduced Boojum — an upgrade that will transition zkSync Era to a STARK-powered proof system, providing world-class performance on consumer-grade hardware.

Boojum is a Rust-based cryptographic library, which is used to implement the upgraded version of the ZK circuits for zkSync Era and the ZK Stack. It aligns with ZK Credo’s principles of integrity, privacy, and scalability, reinforcing zkSync’s commitment to building a secure, efficient, and decentralized network for the Internet of Value. zkSync has already been working on a cryptographic upgrade for a long time, and their paper on a system called RedShift fully describes the approach!

Boojom is not just an upgrade; it’s a crucial step towards a envisioned digital future where ownership and control truly belong to the individual. Currently it is live on the mainnet in an experimental phase, where it is generating and verifying ‘shadow proofs’ with real production data.

As we pointed out at the beginning, these announcements are not just news; they are milestones in the development and adoption of ZK technology, which is the key to unlocking a more scalable, secure, and private Internet of Value.

With ZK Credo, ZK Stack, and Boojum, zkSync is leading the way in this transformation, creating a new era of blockchain innovation and adoption.

Additional learning resources:

Getting started with ZK Credo

Getting started with ZK Stack

Getting started with Boojum

Getting started with zkSync

Join us in this journey to a new era of blockchain adoption! Stay tuned for more updates on our blog, and follow us on Twitter or Medium.

*This article was originally published on txFusion blog.

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