With Boojum, ZKSync introduces an upgrade to promote decentralization.

With Boojum, ZKSync introduces an upgrade to promote decentralization.

ZKSync has taken another measure for decentralization by launching the latest upgrade of its fast Layer 2 network. The team called this upgrade Boojum, named after a fictional mythical creature in Lewis Carroll's poem "The Hunting of the Snark".

The start took place in the so-called Mainnet Shadow mode, a test zone that runs parallel to the Mainnet and is part of the gradual introduction of the update. ZKSync is an advanced scaling solution for Ethereum, the zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups used. Batch transactions outside the maize are summarized into smaller packages and handled on Ethereum in a proof.

In this process, a examiner is involved who takes over the compression and packaging of the transactions. This examiner is referred to as the cryptographic equivalent of a garbage press because it compresses crypto activities worth thousands of dollars. So far, the hurdle for the participation of the users was quite high due to the high computing power required to create this evidence.

With the upgrade Boojum, this hurdle is now reduced. The new examiner can be operated with only 8 gigabytes of hardware, while previous examiners needed around 500 gigabytes of RAM. This makes it much more accessible and enables broader participation. In addition, Boojum carries out transaction compression at a much cheaper price, which also contributes to a reduction in costs.

Alex Gluchowski, CEO of ZKSync, emphasizes the importance of reducing costs for mass application. Although the production of a single transaction costs only a few cents, a large number of transactions per second would mean enormous expansion. It is therefore important to reduce the hardware requirements and to expand the possibilities for participating in ZKSync.

Gluchowski even argues that securing networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum by examiner could be a practical alternative to conventional blockchain mining. He does not believe that the proof of work is a sustainable business source in the long term, but that useful work should be done instead.

After completing the decentralization step, ZKSync plans to decentralize the sequencer. The sequencer is responsible for the order of the transactions in each block. Gluchowski indicates that this could possibly lead to the introduction of a token in the future. Decentralized sequencing requires a way to check transactions without permission.

With the upgrade Boojum, ZKSync therefore takes another step towards decentralization and creates a more accessible and inexpensive solution for Ethereum scaling. The focus is on reducing the hardware requirements and creating a wider participation for users.