Scaling Ethereum with zkSync Era and WalletConnect

zkSync, created by Matter Labs, has a big mission on its hands — to scale Ethereum through the mind-blowing potential of zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, while preserving its foundational values.

“When we talk about scaling Ethereum, we’re not just talking about increasing transaction throughput or lowering gas fees,” says Dustin Brickwood, Developer Relations Engineer at Matter Labs. “Our goal is to scale the trustless, barrierless, and permissionless economic cooperation offered by Ethereum without compromising on security, decentralization, or performance.”

It’s quite the task, one that the team believes is achievable thanks to ZK proofs. ZK proofs are cryptographic methods that can be used to prove the validity of computations or transactions — all without disclosing a single detail about them. Built on top of Ethereum, zkSync’s technology is implemented as a layer 2 protocol on top of Ethereum’s layer 1. The two layers work in tandem, as the ZK layer 2 leverages ZK rollups (a type of ZK proof) to batch and validate transactions offchain while providing a succinct validity proof onchain to the Ethereum mainnet.

This is seamlessly possible because zkSync’s code is “EVM compatible” — i.e. compatibile with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) — which enables a percentage of Ethereum smart contracts to work out-of-the-box. The interplay between the two layers not only reduces the amount of on-chain data necessary (which, in turn, lowers the computational resources required and subsequent gas fees), but it does so without compromising on security and privacy, all thanks to ZK technology. The all-around gains to the blockchain scaling process are simply enormous.

The resulting user experience? Fast, cheap, and privacy-first.

“Security and privacy are absolutely foundational values for zkSync,” says Dustin. “Our long-term vision is to accelerate the mass adoption of crypto, and we see ourselves as the layer 2 protocol that scales Ethereum’s security — and values.”

A new era: Bridging the world to zkSync’s layer 2 with Web3Modal

In March 2023, zkSync opened the protocol to the public with the mainnet alpha launch of zkSync Era, making it the first EVM-compatible, ZK proof-based layer 2 protocol to open to the public.

For the world to benefit from its layer 2 solution, however, zkSync had to bring developers and users to it. In the world of blockchain, this is done through a “bridge”. Bridges are a protocol through which assets or data can be transferred from one network to another — for example, from Ethereum (a layer 1) to zkSync Era (a layer 2).

But building a bridge is one thing; making it accessible is another. In order for users to transfer their assets across it and start using the destination protocol, they must first connect their wallets. Enter WalletConnect’s Web3Modal SDK, the developer toolkit that enables interoperability with hundreds of wallets from the get-go.

“We built our native bridge so that developers and users could easily transfer tokens from other networks to zkSync Era,” explains Dustin. “To make our native bridge as accessible as possible to the broadest number of users, we decided to integrate WalletConnect’s Web3Modal SDK. This not only enabled us to support more than 500 wallets out-of-the-box, but it delivers a user experience that is seamless and — even more importantly — secure.”

After just one day of development time, Web3Modal was launched on the zkSync Era’s txBridge. In the following 30 days, users across 34 different wallet providers connected to zkSync Era, demonstrating the vibrant nature of the wallet ecosystem. zkSync also integrated Web3Modal on its transaction portal txPortal, which allows users to scan their entire transaction history on zkSync Era from a single dashboard. So far, more than 174 million successful transactions have been made on zkSync Era — and the layer 2 is just getting started.

“It’s been really exciting to see Web3Modal open the zkSync Era native bridge and portal up to so many users across so many wallet providers,” notes Dustin. “As a layer 2, our goal is to create a dynamic environment to which users can easily plug in, on their own terms, and start interacting with apps on our network. This is the decentralized ecosystem we are working hard to achieve, and Web3Modal is helping us do that.”

Calling all developers! Build with zkSync Era and WalletConnect — now

Are you interested in building on zkSync Era? The WalletConnect and zkSync teams have teamed up to make it easy for developers to build a new generation of web3 apps on it. In the zkSync Community Hub, zkSync’s open-source initiative, you can now find the Web3Modal and zkSync Era Tutorial and start building with both WalletConnect and zkSync. In just 20 minutes, developers can easily create their own web-based app and connect to zkSync Era with their wallet — all via the Web3Modal SDK.

“WalletConnect’s contribution to our Community Hub makes it incredibly easy for developers to build on zkSync Era,” says Dustin. “Our goal is to make getting started for developers easy and friction-free, so that they can build the apps that will help us onboard the world to crypto.”

Learn more about zkSync Era

zkSync is cutting-edge zero-knowledge (ZK) technology to scale Ethereum and bring crypto to the mainstream — reaching millions of developers and billions of people in need of a technological solution for achieving progress and prosperity. Deeply rooted in its mission to advance personal freedom for all, the zkSync blockchain network makes digital self-ownership universally available. It is trustless, secure, reliable, censorship-resistant, privacy-preserving, hyperscalable, accessible, and sovereign. To learn more about zkSync, visit www.zksync.io.

Learn more about Web3Modal

Built by WalletConnect, Web3Modal is an all-in-one SDK that helps app developers unlock more users through an intuitive wallet login interface. It supports login by custodial, self-custodial, and email wallets, delivering an experience suitable for users along the entire spectrum of web3 familiarity. Explore Web3Modal in greater detail here.