Near announces partnership with Polygon Labs

Near announces partnership with Polygon Labs

Near, a protocol which separetes network's transactions between nodes, has partnered with Polygon to build ZK prover for WebAssembly blockchains. 

zkWASM:

zkWASM will be a zero-knowledge prover for WebAssembly blockchains it will maximise developer customizability to empower the creators. zkWASM will offer developers a variety of provers to choose from during the building process, indicating a commitment to versatility and developer preferences. The developing process will be conducted with Polygon Chain CDK. The aim is to enhance developer flexibility and customization.

The introduction of zkWASM is expected to simplify the validation process for Near validators. They will no longer need to validate a shard directly; instead, they can generate a zero-knowledge proof, which is seen as a more efficient approach that enhances scalability.

Prospects: 

Overall, the deal brings Near closer to Ethereum ecosystem. Zero-knowledge cryptography is highlighted as a significant trend in the digital-asset industry. It offers the advantage of reducing the need for individuals to repeatedly provide personal information to various websites and online applications.

According to press release, WASM provides access to Ethereum liquidity. In the future, an interoperability layer is planned to enable various blockchain types, such as alternative layer-1s, EVM layer-2s, and WASM chains, to access shared liquidity and function within a unified ecosystem. This enhances cross-chain interoperability and opens new opportunities to Near adopters.