New Ethereum rollup takes a zero-knowledge approach to sharding

zkSharding, the =nil; Foundation’s entry into the layer-2 race, aims to help reduce liquidity fragmentation on-chain

article-image

Maurice NORBERT/Shutterstock, modified by Blockworks

share

Ethereum scaling solution builder =nil; Foundation has introduced zkSharding for Ethereum, the latest infrastructure attempt at gaining faster transaction speeds while maintaining Ethereum’s economic security.

Sharding, unlike other popular scaling solutions, is designed to divide the Ethereum network into different sections and process transactions in a cheaper, more efficient manner. 

ZkSharding utilizes zero-knowledge (zk) technology to generate proofs, ensuring that transactions are valid across different layer-2 shards before being submitted to Ethereum mainnet. The greater the sub-shards, the higher the maximum throughput on Ethereum. 

This technique is not to be confused with Proto-Danksharding, which refers to Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844, and whose primary purpose is to reduce the costs of transactions for zk rollups by storing them in temporary data blobs, Misha Komarov, CEO and co-founder of =nil; Foundation told Blockworks. 

All zk rollups can benefit from Proto-Danksharding, but only applications built on =nil; will be able to benefit from zkSharding on top of that, Komarov explains, noting that data-intensive environments and high-load environments will be able to benefit most from zkSharding. 

“As a zk rollup, =nil; benefits from Proto-Danksharding that cheapens storing transactions on Ethereum, however zkSharding as a scaling concept addresses fragmentation of liquidity and economic security,” Komarov said.

ZkSharding represents a combination of modular and monolithic blockchain architectures and delivers an appropriate solution based on its features in a competitive layer-2 environment, he said. 

“We believe that zkSharding addresses the drawbacks common for other alternatives on the market that go, by design, with application-specific scaling,” she said. 

Specifically, Komarov notes that applications built on other zk rollups can only interact with liquidity or data that was migrated to its specific zk rollup environment, limiting market efficiency and creating additional trust assumptions and costs through bridges for interoperability. 

“zkSharding introduces separate shards as dedicated execution layers that are fully composable with each other, meaning a transaction can trigger the creation of new transactions on other shards,” Komarov said.

The goals are familiar from other zk-based scaling approaches such as zkSync’s, however. ZkSync terms chain connections using the ZK Stack architecture “hyperbridges,” which are also designed to trigger transactions on other “hyperchains,” a spokesperson told Blockworks.

“As a rule, don’t trust, verify the claims of those that promise to solve the layer-2 fragmentation of liquidity issues — even with cutting-edge zk tech, it’s definitely not solvable for native assets without adding non-negligible security assumptions,” the spokesperson said.

Finding the proof in the pudding will have to wait in the case of the new =nil; layer-2, which is initially operating with a single shard on a testnet.

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (19).png

Research

Suilend has grown into the top money market and liquid staking provider on Sui. STEAMM, Suilend’s Superfluid AMM, presents a compelling avenue for growing market share within Sui’s DEX landscape and revenue generation for the protocol. Suilend’s multi-product suite position it well for owning market share across key verticals. While current metrics across the Sui ecosystem are likely inflated due to Sui Foundation incentive programs, SEND trades at amongst the lowest multiples in the lend/borrow sector, suggesting that a bull case for continued growth in the ecosystem may be mispriced.

article-image

Decentralized money was a “very unpopular goal” when concepts were proposed in the ’90s, said Nick Szabo

article-image

Cove aims to deliver “risk-adjusted yield” through curated DeFi vaults

article-image

The best capital markets are open to the most people — and crypto capital markets are open to everyone

article-image

Post-conference musings on Firedancer, Kraken, Solana Mobile and Trump

article-image

Executives expect others to follow SharpLink Gaming’s lead in purchasing an asset that has surged this past month

article-image

After a weekend of tariff policy shifts, investors appear confident that trade deals are underway