Polygon zkEVM looks to overtake Base, more inside
- zkEVM’s upcoming update will provide support for the latest Ethereum opcode.
- Its network activity declined while competitors flourished.
Over the last few weeks, Polygon [MATIC] zkEVM witnessed a drop in its activity as key metrics like active addresses fell sharply. In fact, Coinbase’s L2, Base, surpassed zkEVM on multiple fronts.
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However, Polygon looked to push multiple network upgrades for its zkEVM, which could help turn the situation around in the rollup’s favor.
Polygon is pushing new updates
Polygon pushed out the network rehash and resync on 18 September. Though the duration of the update was 6 hours, it did not impact the state of the network, any past transactions, or any L1 information.
UPDATE: Network rehash and resync completed successfully.
Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta rehashing + bridge L2 resync has completed successfully and the system has resumed full activities.
Thank you for your patience.
Please use https://t.co/zNzVkIYTiu while Polygonscan zkEVM… https://t.co/PJbWkWLsAi
— Polygon (@0xPolygon) September 18, 2023
Soon after the update was released, Polygon announced that it would push out the next update on 20 September 2023. The upcoming release, named Dragon Fruit Upgrade, covers a range of improvements to the network, including support for the latest Ethereum [ETH] opcode, PUSH0.
Dragonfruit upgrade: Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta
Date: Wed, 20th Sept 2023
Time: 7:30AM UTC / 09:30AM CEST
Duration: ~2 hoursOnce Dragon Fruit is implemented, Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta will be up to date with the latest version of Solidity, maintaining the rollup’s equivalence…
— Polygon (@0xPolygon) September 18, 2023
PUSH0 is the latest EVM opcode included in the Shanghai hard fork. As per the official announcement, once Dragon Fruit is implemented, Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta will be up-to-date with the latest version of Solidity.
The updates can support Polygon zkEVM’s growth
Polygon zkEVM got famous because of its soaring network statistics right off the bat. However, the last few weeks were not the best for the rollup, as several of its key metrics fell.
For instance, network activity declined, which was evident from the drop in its daily active addresses. As a result, the rollup’s daily transactions also went down.
Moreover, there was also a decline in its captured value as its TVL dropped sharply, which looked concerning for the rollup’s health.
In fact, Coinbase’s L2 Base managed to outshine zkEVM on multiple fronts, despite having the disadvantage of being launched way after the former. The L2 was quick to gain immense popularity as its active addresses skyrocketed and exceeded zkEVM in July.
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The same trend was also seen in terms of daily transactions, as Base remained above zkEVM. Withal, as Polygon pushes new updates for zkEVM, the possibility of things turning around in zkEVM’s favor can’t be ruled out.
It will be interesting to see which rollup emerges as a leader in the coming months.