Polygon Invests $5M in VPUs to Reduce Zero-Knowledge Costs

Key Takeaways

Polygon Labs allocates $5M for server systems equipped with specialized zero-knowledge cryptography chips.
This innovative technology aims to shorten the timeline for adopting zero-knowledge proofs from years to mere months.

Polygon Labs, a prominent developer of Ethereum layer-2, has revealed intentions to acquire $5 million worth of server solutions tailored for zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography processing from hardware supplier Fabric.

This acquisition aligns with a collaboration aimed at expediting the advancement of Polygon’s AggLayer, an interoperability framework intended to facilitate smooth token transfers among joined blockchain nodes. Fabric is responsible for producing specialized zero-knowledge chips, named verifiable processing units (VPUs), expressly for the AggLayer initiative.

Polygon’s ZK team has been working closely with Fabric to develop VPUs that are customized for its prover libraries, Plonky2 and Plonky3. These provers form essential components in blockchain architectures centered around zero-knowledge cryptography, which has become a significant focus for Polygon as well as a trending theme within the cryptocurrency arena.

“The integration of this technology will greatly expedite the evolution of the AggLayer, enabling real-time, cost-effective proofs […] and significantly lower proving expenses than previously anticipated in the medium term,” stated Bjelic.

Enhancing zero-knowledge technology for reduced costs and quicker transactions

This partnership follows Fabric’s recent Series A funding round of $33 million, in which Polygon Labs took part. Fabric’s VPUs are custom-designed chips aimed at streamlining cryptography and blockchain functions. According to Polygon co-founder Mihailo Bjelic, these dedicated processors could drastically hasten the timeline for broader acceptance of zero-knowledge technology, eliminating significant development and research durations.

“Fabric’s VPUs can narrow the timeline for the extensive implementation of zero-knowledge technology from a span of three to five years down to just six to twelve months,” Bjelic claimed, adding that deploying this technology would “hugely advance the development of the AggLayer, introducing real-time, affordable proofs that experts thought were years away.”

Through the creation of hardware expressly optimized for generating ZK proofs, the collaboration endeavors to transcend existing obstacles and lay the groundwork for more efficient and scalable blockchain frameworks. In related developments, Polygon has commenced the transition of its MATIC tokens to POL, steering towards a new ‘hyperproductive’ phase concerning the token’s utility.