ZK Rollup's Breakthrough in the Ethereum Ecosystem: An Analysis of the Most Promising Layer 2 Solution in 2025

Why Does Ethereum Need ZK Rollup?

As the core infrastructure for DeFi and Web3 applications, Ethereum faces an unavoidable issue: as network congestion increases, gas fees keep rising, and transaction speeds plummet. Although Ethereum 2.0 is being rolled out in phases, its full implementation still requires time.

Against this backdrop, ZK Rollup (Zero-Knowledge Rollup) emerged— as a leading Layer 2 solution, it transfers transaction processing off-chain while ensuring data security and integrity, becoming a key to Ethereum scalability.

Unlike other Layer 2 solutions, ZK Rollup uses cryptographic “zero-knowledge proof” technology, which can verify the validity of all transactions without revealing transaction details—this is truly “secure and efficient.”

Core Mechanism of ZK Rollup

Imagine upgrading a city’s traffic system: ZK Rollup is like building an efficient express lane for congested main roads, allowing traffic to flow quickly within side networks, and only submitting the “verified” summarized information back to the main road.

The specific process is as follows:

1. Off-chain Processing: Thousands of transactions are bundled and processed in an independent virtual machine, greatly improving cost and speed.
2. Proof Generation: The system generates a cryptographic proof that all operations within this transaction bundle are legitimate.
3. On-chain Verification: Validation nodes only need to check this proof to ensure the entire batch of transactions is authentic, without examining each one individually.

This design offers three core advantages:

• Transaction throughput increased by 10-100 times
• Gas fees reduced by over 90%
• Instant finality of transactions (better than the waiting period of Optimistic Rollup)

ZK Rollup vs Optimistic Rollup: Why ZK Is Superior?

In the Layer 2 landscape, ZK Rollup and Optimistic Rollup are two mainstream solutions. Their differences are:

Key Difference: ZK Rollup eliminates the need for trust in third parties through zero-knowledge proofs—meaning the system can operate automatically even if all validators remain silent. This is an essential upgrade in security.

ZK Rollup Ecosystem to Watch in 2025

Manta Network (Manta Pacific)—Pioneer in Privacy DeFi

Market Cap: $33.86M | Mainnet Launch: September 2023

Manta Pacific uses zk-SNARKs technology, focusing on privacy transactions and asset swaps. Users can perform DeFi operations completely anonymously—transaction amounts and asset types are encrypted but still verifiable by the system.

This feature is almost unique in the current DeFi market. Due to this privacy advantage, Manta has surpassed Coinbase’s Base in a short period, becoming Ethereum’s fourth-largest Layer 2 solution.

Suitable for: Privacy-conscious institutional investors, large traders, DeFi users with risk management needs

Linea—A Simple and Efficient Developer Choice

Market Cap: $107.29M | Mainnet Launch: August 2023

Linea’s positioning is clear: reduce migration costs for developers. It is fully compatible with the Ethereum smart contract ecosystem, allowing developers to deploy applications to Linea with minimal code modifications.

As a “plug-and-play” solution within the Ethereum ecosystem, Linea launched an airdrop of its native token LINEA in 2024. Although details of the tokenomics are not yet public, market enthusiasm is already evident.

Suitable for: Projects wanting to quickly deploy Layer 2, teams demanding high development efficiency

Polygon zkEVM—Advantages of Ecosystem Collaboration

Market Cap info: Using MATIC | Mainnet Launch: March 2023

Polygon zkEVM is a key part of the Polygon ecosystem, inheriting the network effects of Polygon. Fully compatible with EVM, existing Ethereum tools and smart contracts can be used “out of the box.”

This integration advantage makes zkEVM the first choice for projects that want ZK efficiency without rebuilding their applications.

Suitable for: Projects with an existing Polygon ecosystem, teams seeking comprehensive Layer 2 solutions

Starknet—Representative of Next-Generation Cryptography

Market Cap: $396.23M | Mainnet Launch: February 2022 | Token: STRK

Starknet uses STARKs instead of SNARKs, which is a significant upgrade: STARKs do not require trusted setup and can resist future quantum computing threats.

Although its TVL is currently lower than other projects, Starknet represents the future direction of ZK technology. Supporting general computation means any complex smart contract logic can run efficiently on Starknet.

Suitable for: Investors sensitive to technical routes, ecosystem participants optimistic about ZK development

zkSync Era—A Balanced Versatile Player

Market Cap: $555M (current market data) | Mainnet Launch: March 2023

zkSync Era, developed by Matter Labs, emphasizes EVM compatibility and user experience. It combines the high efficiency of ZK with a steep learning curve for developers.

To date, zkSync has the highest market recognition, with the most applications and TVL in its ecosystem.

Suitable for: DeFi projects, NFT platforms, applications requiring a balance of security and usability

Scroll—A Pursuer of High Throughput

TVL: $63.46M | Mainnet Launch: October 2023

Scroll focuses on extreme throughput and low latency. Compared to other projects, Scroll adopts more aggressive optimization strategies, especially suitable for high-frequency trading scenarios.

The native token has not yet been issued, but its technical indicators have already attracted attention.

Suitable for: DEXs, perpetual contract platforms, trading applications highly sensitive to latency

Aztec Protocol—Pioneer of Privacy Smart Contracts

Launched: 2017 | Unique Programming Language: Noir

Aztec uses a hybrid public-private execution model, allowing developers to combine public and private logic within the same smart contract. Noir programming language greatly reduces the difficulty of developing ZK applications.

The concept of privacy choice is quite unique: applications can opt for fully public, fully private, or hybrid modes.

Suitable for: Applications requiring flexible privacy controls, new projects experimenting with ZK technology

ZetaChain—A Cross-Chain Interoperability Bridge

Market Cap: $80.77M | Mainnet Launch: February 2021 | Token: ZETA

ZetaChain leverages ZK Rollup capabilities for cross-chain scenarios, using zk-SNARKs to achieve secure cross-chain asset transfers and data interactions without centralized bridges.

This is a unique application direction—not just solving Ethereum single-chain scalability, but addressing multi-chain connectivity.

Suitable for: Multi-chain ecosystems, cross-chain DEXs, cross-chain lending protocols

Other Notable Projects

Taiko (Mainnet testing in January 2024)—introduces the “based sequencer” concept, with Layer 1 nodes acting as orderers, fully decentralized, funded by $37M

ZKFair—focuses on preventing front-running in decentralized exchanges, making trade execution fairer

DeGate V1—ZK Rollup solution dedicated to derivatives trading

Practical Challenges Facing ZK Rollup

Despite promising prospects, the road to widespread adoption of ZK technology is not smooth:

• Technical Complexity: Implementing and maintaining zero-knowledge proofs requires top-tier talent; excellent developers within the ecosystem are scarce.
• Proof Generation Cost: Although cheaper than on-chain computation, generating ZK proofs still demands significant computational resources.
• Application Limitations: Certain transaction types do not see significant efficiency improvements in ZK environments.
• Liquidity Fragmentation: Multiple ZK Rollups fragment liquidity that was once centralized, increasing slippage.
• Cross-Layer Interaction Complexity: Users and developers need to understand the interaction logic between Layer 1 and Layer 2.

Expectations for ZK Rollup Development in 2025

Despite challenges, the entire ecosystem is accelerating breakthroughs. R&D directions focus on:

✓ Optimizing proof generation efficiency—aiming to reduce proof time from minutes to seconds
✓ Establishing cross-Rollup interoperability standards—reducing liquidity fragmentation
✓ Innovations at the application layer—expanding from pure transaction scenarios to data-intensive applications

As technology matures and user education deepens, ZK Rollup is expected to evolve from a niche technology to a standard infrastructure in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Conclusion

ZK Rollup is not just a technological advancement but a necessary path for Ethereum’s large-scale adoption. Its architecture of off-chain processing combined with on-chain verification breaks through the physical limits of single-chain throughput while maintaining blockchain security guarantees.

As more applications and users migrate to ZK Rollup, the entire blockchain ecosystem’s usability will leap forward—transforming from “small-scale financial experiments” into a truly public infrastructure.

For investors and developers interested in Ethereum’s ecosystem, now is the golden window to learn about and participate in ZK Rollup.