Polygon Labs and NEAR have revealed their collaboration on integrating a ZK prover for WebAssembly (WASM).
The upcoming addition to the Polygon Contract Development Kit (CDK) will introduce a 'zkWASM' prover, enabling Web Assembly networks to seamlessly integrate with the larger Polygon ecosystem.
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In a joint announcement on November 8, NEAR and Polygon developers have revealed their collaboration to create a zero-knowledge (ZK) prover for Web Assembly (WASM) blockchains. This prover, named "zkWASM," will enable WASM-based networks to integrate with the Polygon ecosystem for the first time.
WASM is a binary instruction format developed for use in web browsers, and several blockchain networks, such as NEAR, Stellar, Polkadot, and Internet Computer, use it as a computation engine instead of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
The zkWASM prover is currently in active development and is expected to be available next year. Once completed, it will be integrated into Polygon's chain development kit (CDK), allowing developers to create custom WASM networks and seamlessly integrate them into the broader Polygon ecosystem, including the Ethereum mainnet.
Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR, emphasized that zkWASM will enhance NEAR's integration with Ethereum, improving liquidity for users. Additionally, zkWASM will enhance validator efficiency on the NEAR network, leading to better scalability and increased decentralization.
Polygon is working on building a multi-chain ecosystem known as "Polygon 2.0," which will include bridges using zero-knowledge proofs to facilitate asset transfers between different chains. In September, Polygon unveiled plans to replace its native coin, MATIC, with a new one called "POL."
