Polygon wants to upgrade PoS chain to zkEVM validium

If the proposal is passed, Polygon PoS could transform into a zk-based layer-2 by early 2024, Polygon Labs says

article-image

CryptoFX/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

After unveiling Polygon 2.0 last week, Polygon Labs introduced a proposal to upgrade its proof-of-stake chain to a zkEVM validium, which it says would improve security and performance. 

With Polygon 2.0, its developers signaled their intention to capture the “value layer” of the internet. This proposal, they say, is an “important step” toward that goal.

With this proposed upgrade, the proof-of-stake, or PoS, chain now has a clear roadmap toward integrating zero-knowledge proofs into its infrastructure, a technology many believe is the future of smart contract blockchains. However, it’s important to note that this will be separate from Polygon’s zkEVM that it introduced in late March.

The proposal aims to tackle several problems faced by Polygon PoS, one of which is incredibly fast block times, which sounds like a positive. However, the speed ends up decreasing the efficiency of its gas estimation model, which sometimes causes gas price spikes, resulting in processing delays for users transactions.

The validium upgrade would fix that, as well as eliminate chain reorgs — a common problem on the Polygon PoS chain. The proposal says the PoS chain’s “legacy tech stack” based on forks of the Cosmos SDK for consensus and the Geth EVM execution client, implemented in 2020, is “suboptimal,” according to the proposal.

Using the Polygon’s zkEVM instead is the answer, the proposal argues. The current probabilistic consensus method will be scrapped in favor of a “decentralized validator/sequencer sets with deterministic, single block finality.” 

In a blog post announcing the proposal, Polygon Labs described validium as “the lower-cost, higher-throughput sibling of a rollup.”

The chief difference, one which the proposal describes as a “downside,” is that validiums maintain data availability outside of Ethereum. Polygon downplayed this difference because it can leverage an existing decentralized validator set from the PoS chain staking of MATIC, Polygon’s native token.

Polygon Labs also told stakeholders that applications should remain operational and fees should stay just as low.

If consensus is reached among the community, implementation of the validium upgrade could happen by the first quarter of 2024, Polygon Labs said.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

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 (1).jpg

Research

Jupiter has emerged as the undisputed liquidity backbone of Solana, commanding over 90% of spot DEX aggregation and 80% of perp trading volume. But behind the numbers lies a far more ambitious play: a cross-chain, vertically integrated super-app spanning swaps, synthetics, NFTs, memecoins, and launchpads. This report explores Jupiter’s rapid rise, the monetization upgrades reshaping its revenue profile, and the risks that could unwind its dominance, from token dilution to competition. With annualized revenues nearing $300M, the upside is undeniable, if it can navigate the turbulence.

article-image

Immutable has been building a game with Ubisoft that was slated to unveil in April. It may be a TCG.

article-image

Curve founder Michael Egorov is working on a new protocol designed to eliminate impermanent loss, rethink token emissions, and capture BTC-native yield

article-image

Mining outfits have gone bust in the wake of prior halvings. Not so this time around.

article-image

Zora’s announcement that its token is for “fun only” sparked a debate about the need for such tokens

article-image

In recent weeks, Helium has hit new all-time highs while passing major protocol milestones

article-image

Financial advisers in a January survey said equity ETFs were their top choice for gaining crypto exposure in 2025