Introducing ZK Stack —— Building a ZK-driven Sovereign Chain Modular Framework

Author: zkSync; Compiler: Kate, Marsbit

Today, we’re excited to share our expanded vision to achieve this mission: the ZK Stack, a modular framework for building ZK-powered sovereign chains.

ZK Stack Overview

• Free: ZK Stack is developed under the fully permissive MIT/Apache open source license, ensuring its free availability, and we strongly encourage you to contribute and use it according to your needs.

• Composable: The super chain built using ZK Stack can be seamlessly connected in a trustless network, with low latency and shared liquidity.

• Modularity: Customize and shape every aspect of the Superchain, from the choice of sequencers and data availability modes to defining its own token economy.

• Proven: zkSync Era is the most widely adopted ZK rollup on Ethereum, as evidenced by impressive transactions in TVL and transaction volume. With such a track record, ZK Stack is a safe choice when it comes to security and reliability.

• Future proof: ZK rollups are the future of Ethereum scaling. To realize the full potential of ZK superpowers, building the right architecture from the start is crucial.

**What is ZK Stack? **

ZK Stack represents our response to the challenges outlined in ZK Credo. Since there is currently no solution that exactly matches the desired properties, we felt the need to create one and make it available to the community.

ZK Stack is a free, modular, open-source framework designed to build custom ZK-powered L2 and L3 (called hyperchains) based on the code of zkSync Era.

The core of ZK Stack provides two key functions: sovereignty and seamless connection. The creator (you) owns full rights to the code and enjoys unrestricted autonomy to customize and shape every aspect of the chain. The super chain operates independently, relying only on Ethereum L1 to achieve its activity and security, while the super bridge network facilitates the interconnection of each super chain, so as to realize trustless, fast (within a few minutes) and cheap (single transaction cost) interoperability.

**zkSync Era is at the forefront of this hyper-scalable unified liquidity network, **it is the pioneer of super chains.

The ZK Stack is also an important paradigm shift for the zkSync core team. Prior to this, we had focused on building the most advanced ZK technology as fast as possible, culminating in the launch and adoption of zkSync Era - the first EVM-compatible ZK rollup - in record time. However, as the saying goes, "If we want to go far, we must go together." Our current priority is to help many teams understand and contribute to the ZK Stack. As more hyperchains are launched, the number of core contributors will grow, and the community will become the true owner of the zkSync network, enabling it to maintain the spirit and values embodied in ZK Credo.

**Who is ZK Stack suitable for? **

ZK Stack is not for everyone. If you are building a general-purpose DeFi dApp or NFT project, deploying it on an existing super chain (such as zkSync Era) will be a simpler process, allowing you to sync combinations with other protocols in the ecosystem, thereby Realize functions like flash loans.

However, there are two situations where you may prefer to build your own hyperchain on the ZK Stack:

1. When you need tailor-made for your blockchain.

2. When you are comfortable with an asynchronous connection to the wider ecosystem.

Examples (not exhaustive):

• If you are building a game or social network and need a lightweight sequencer that is not burdened by other dApps and use cases.

• For those building an exchange application chain that values low-latency ordering (think dYdX).

• Banks or corporates looking for closed private chains while remaining interconnected with the rest of the ecosystem.

• If your goal is to build a network of applications that can interact with each other, without the trust assumption inherent in x-chain bridges, and at minimal cost.

• For scenarios where your use case is closely related to the token and you intend to use it as the base token of the system.

**Why choose ZK Stack? **

The short answer is: it's future-proof.

It is impossible to build a Zeppelin and replace the propeller with a turbofan engine at the same time.

It is impossible to lay a narrow-gauge railway and then launch bullet trains on it.

It is impossible to build a gas meter and then use it as a high-pressure LNG receiving terminal.

Every fundamental technological shift requires every aspect of the system to be redesigned and tuned to realize the full potential of that technology. If you don't acquire this knowledge from the beginning, it will be difficult to use it later. Ultimately, you will need to migrate and remove all the network effects accumulated on the old technology.

ZK technology unlocks unique superpowers not possible with existing non-ZK solutions. Harnessing these superpowers requires innovation and the courage to forge new paths, which is exactly what we do at zkSync Era.

Here are some notable examples:

• Fantastic user experience: ZK Stack has the only native account abstraction in the current L2 field. Its design benefits from gas-free call data in our ZK-enabled architecture.

• Compression: Due to the simplicity of ZK proofs, certain transaction types (such as oracle updates) will be 1000x cheaper on ZK Stack than other rollup platforms.

• Ultra-low cost: In addition to the ZK rollup model (Hyperchain accounts fully inherit the security of Ethereum), ZK Stack also supports optional extensions to provide extremely affordable zkPorter accounts for appropriate use cases.

We will start a series of technical deep dives, in which we will explain the fundamentals and details of the ZK Stack architecture. To facilitate in-depth and fruitful discussions, we will discuss the principles in ZK Credo one by one. Today, we will focus on the most prominent value proposition of ZK Stack: Hyperscalability.

Ultra Scalability

ZK Stack allows you to build your own sovereign superchain without sacrificing interoperability and composability.

Each Superchain is seamlessly integrated into our infinitely scalable ecosystem, powered by shared provers and fractal scaling, resulting in a complete liquidity network. In this ecosystem, users can quickly transfer their assets (within minutes) in a trustless manner, and without incurring any additional costs on the Hyperchain through Hyperbridges. Smart contracts will call each other asynchronously across chains. Superchains themselves will be sovereign, enabling them to join other ecosystems and take their assets with them if they choose to leave.

HOW TO GET STARTED

Over the next few weeks, we will be making changes to the codebase to make it easier to checkout, configure, and deploy instances of ZK Stack. Our ultimate goal is one-click deployment!

If you are a developer interested in getting involved, we encourage you to get in touch and help us expedite the process towards this goal.

Explore the zkSync Era documentation: