Matter Labs opened access to its Layer 2 network zkSync Era to the wider public on Friday, marking the launch of the first zkEVM on the Ethereum blockchain.

ZkSync has been going through a slow rollout. In October 2022 it launched on the Ethereum mainnet in a baby alpha phase, for internal testing. In February, it opened the doors to development teams to get whitelisted access to the network and start experimenting with it.

ZkSync Era is a Layer 2 network that uses zero-knowledge proofs to batch transactions together and record them on the Ethereum network. As a zkEVM, it maintains compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine — the processor within the Ethereum blockchain. This means that developers can more easily port over applications to the network, where they can benefit from faster transactions and lower fees.

(by Tim Copeland)