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- ZK compression drastically reduces on-chain costs for creating tokens and accounts.
- The community debates whether ZK compression functions as a layer-2 network.
Solana (SOL) announced an innovative feature called zero-knowledge (ZK) compression, which was created in partnership with Light Protocol and Helius Lab. With the aid of this innovative technology, developers can compress the on-chain state of tokens and accounts, therefore lowering the expenses related to their creation.
Light Protocol and Helius Labs will be partnering to introduce ZK compression to Solana on June 21st. By compressing on-chain data, this feature seeks to make application development more scalable and drastically reduce expenses while preserving Solana’s security and performance.
the big news is here
today we're introducing ZK compression to Solana, directly on the L1 — without requiring L2s
this changes everything you thought you knew about Solana and scaling L1s
TL;DR — we compress onchain state to get 10,000x scale improvements and get 1 step closer… pic.twitter.com/7FtyLA3Jdp
— mert | helius | hSOL (@0xMert_) June 21, 2024
How ZK Compression Works
ZK compression reduces token and account creation costs by using zero-knowledge proofs. These validations allow data retrieval using supported RPC providers and guarantee data integrity. Developers may drastically lower on-chain storage costs by storing just state roots on-chain and retaining other data on Solana’s ledger.
ZK compression offers significant cost savings and scalability improvements, according to Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz. “We compress on-chain state, moving closer to creating a global, fast-syncing state machine,” he said, “achieving 10,000x scale improvements.”
Addressing Storage Costs
Head of Strategy Austin Federa of Solana emphasized how ZK compression solves the high costs of on-chain account storage.
Federa claims that by lowering Solana token and account costs, this invention will let more companies produce on-chain products. Federa said:
“This compression helps institutions and mass-consumer applications solve a big pain point.”
Though there is a lot of excitement, some in the crypto world contend that ZK compression is more like a layer-2 (L2). A prominent voice in the field, Adam Cochran, says the compression tool is an L2 and that developers are presenting it differently.
“The Solana team will eventually realise they have built an effective L2 feature, which is positive as long as they are honest about it,” said Cochran.
As of writing, SOL is trading for about $125.36, down 6.82% over the previous 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. On the other hand, Teleport, a new decentralized ride-sharing software on Solana that provides drivers with lesser expenses and greater earnings, was highlighted in a prior CNF report.
