The NEAR Foundation, a Swiss non-profit organization, has unveiled a strategic collaboration with Polygon Labs to create zkWASM, a zero-knowledge (ZK) prover tailored for WebAssembly (WASM) blockchains.
This partnership was announced during NEARCON, the annual conference hosted by NEAR, held in Lisbon.
The primary objective of this collaboration is to enhance the security and interoperability of Web3, the decentralized internet. zkWASM will bridge the gap between the NEAR Protocol and Ethereum, enabling WASM-based chains to access Ethereum’s resources.
Improving Security and Interoperability
The zkWASM prover will play a pivotal role in boosting security and interoperability within the Web3 ecosystem. Its implementation will enable WASM chains to closely integrate with Ethereum, providing access to Ethereum’s resources.
Further, this will facilitate the sharing of liquidity and interaction between chains through an interoperability layer, which encompasses alternative layer-1 blockchains, Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) layer-2 solutions, and WASM-based chains.
NEAR Foundation’s Role in Polygon CDK
As part of this partnership, the NEAR Foundation will become a core contributor to Polygon’s Contract Development Kit (CDK).
Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon Labs, highlighted the flexibility provided by the zkWASM prover for developers. It allows projects to select from various provers when working with CDK. This flexibility enables developers to make choices such as launching or migrating an EVM-based blockchain or creating a WASM-based chain that aligns more closely with Ethereum and provides access to liquidity.
NEAR Protocol focuses on developer-friendly infrastructure for building decentralized applications (dApps), while Polygon is known for its solutions to improve scalability and user experience on blockchains.
The collaboration between the NEAR Foundation and Polygon Labs to develop zkWASM also represents a crucial step in enhancing the security and interoperability of Web3. This innovation also promises to empower developers and improve transaction efficiency.
Read More:
Custodia Bank Secures Regulatory Approval for Bitcoin Custody Platform
Mantle Network Integrates USDY and mUSD As Asset-Backed Tokens