Polygon, a well-known developer of Ethereum layer-2 solutions, has launched the alpha version testnet of its new zero-knowledge (ZK)-rollup solution called Miden. This announcement was made on May 6, and developers can now begin testing the Polygon Miden Alpha Testnet. Miden is specifically designed to improve the capabilities of the Ethereum blockchain. Similar to other ZK-rollups, Miden uses a cryptographic technique that allows data to be verified without revealing its contents to the network. It also incorporates client-side proving, which enables users to generate proofs for their own state transitions locally, enhancing privacy and scalability. Miden introduces new features such as private accounts that support private tokens and transactions, as well as parallel transaction execution for higher throughput. The roadmap for Miden includes a builders testnet in September, with no specific timeline for the mainnet launch. Miden will compete directly with StarkWare’s StarkNet and Matter Labs’ zkSync Era. Polygon also offers zkEVM, a scaling solution that is compatible with existing Ethereum smart contracts. Despite the launch of Miden, Polygon’s native token did not experience a significant market reaction. The CEO of Polygon Labs, Marc Boiron, criticized Layer 3 (L3) networks on the Ethereum blockchain, stating that they are unnecessary for scaling and only drain value from the mainnet. Polygon Labs focuses on Layer 2 (L2) scaling and does not work on L3 networks. The L3 ecosystem includes solutions from L2 networks such as Orbs, Xai, zkSync Hyperchains, and Degen Chain. Additionally, Polygon’s PoS sidechain successfully executed the Napoli hard fork, adding support for Dencun features and becoming the first network to support RIP-7212. EIP-1153 aims to improve block space utilization and overall network performance.
