Polygon announces zero-knowledge EVM rollups to boost Web3 infrastructure

Polygon, a decentralised Web3 infrastructure and Ethereum scaling solution, has launched Polygon zkEVM (zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine), a layer 2 solution that leverages zero-knowledge proofs to offer seamless transactions buoyed with reduced costs and increased throughput.

The batching of transactions support allows for significant reduction of gas fees, while it also supports faster settlement of deposits and withdrawals – an attractive aspect for DeFi developers.

Advancing Web3 infrastructure

The zkEVM also offers frictionless functionality with all smart contracts, wallets and developer tools, tapping into the same robust security that secure the Ethereum blockchain.

Polygon zkEVM also allows for developers to migrate decentralised applications (dApps) from EVM-compatible chains via a simple switch of nodes. They don’t have to change the code, tooling or smart contracts when they migrate from EVM-compatible to zkEVM.

The solution thus boasts the three main features that are crucial to the Web3 ecosystem – scalability, security and Ethereum-compatibility – which Polygon co-founder Mihailo Bjelic called the “holy grail of Web3 infrastructure.”

Until now, it has not been practically possible to offer all these properties at once. Polygon zkEVM is a breakthrough technology that finally achieves that, thus opening a new chapter of mass adoption,” he commented.

The L2 solution supports seamless minting of NFTs, Web3 gaming and enterprise applications. In all these, developers get the benefits of higher throughput and low fees (Polygon believes its zk-rollups can cut fees seen on the Ethereum network by 90% and that a future off-chain feature could push the fees even lower).

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Southeast Asian crypto exchange Zipmex halts withdrawals

Zipmex, a Thai-based crypto exchange, has halted withdrawals citing a combination of circumstances. The Southeast Asian exchange has halted withdrawals until further notice.

A tweet by the exchange said:

“Due to a combination of circumstances beyond our control including volatile market conditions, and the resulting financial difficulties of our key business partners, to maintain the integrity of our platform, we would be pausing withdrawals until further notice.”

Failed acquisition by Coinbase

Prior to the halting of withdrawals, Cointelegraph had issued reports that Zipmex could be in trouble but the crypto exchange ended up dismissing that as just rumors. This came after a failed acquisition of Zipmex by Coinbase.

Responding to Cointelegraph, the CEO and co-founder of Zipmex, Marcus Lim, said:

“While Coinbase is an interesting partner, an investor makes more sense at this stage.”

Lim went ahead to explain the reason for the failed acquisition saying:

“The acquisition fell through due to market conditions. They’ve pulled out in many countries around the world such as Turkey and in Latin America. Coinbase is a great strategic partner to the business.”

Coinbase had made an offer to acquire Zipmex in the first quarter of 2022 but the acquisition plan fell on June 9. However, Coinbase went ahead to make a strategic investment into the Thai-based crypto exchange.

Other than halting withdrawals, there are reports that Zipmex is planning for a Series B+ that could value it at $400 million.

By August 2021, Zipmex had reached a 200,000 user base with over $1 billion in gross transaction volume since it was launched in 2019.

Zipmex troubles

According to sources some funds, about $100 million from Zipmex were given to Hong Kong-based asset manager Babel Finance with the aim of generating yield. However, there is a risk of default since Babel halted withdrawals in June due to unusual liquidity pressures resulting from the crypto market meltdown and hasn’t resumed the withdrawals.

Though not confirmed, there are fears that Zipmex could go the way of Celsius, which has already filed for bankruptcy seeking financial restructuring.

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