ZK Rollup Ecosystem to Watch in 2025: A New Balance Between Performance and Security

Ethereum, as the infrastructure for DeFi and Web3, faces an eternal dilemma: when user numbers surge, transaction fees skyrocket, and network congestion follows. While Ethereum 2.0’s sharding upgrade is still on the way, Layer 2 solutions have already become the most practical approach today. Among them, ZK rollup is gaining mainstream attention thanks to its unique cryptographic mechanisms.

Core Logic of ZK Rollup: Why Choose This Path?

Simply put, zk rollup bundles a large number of transactions off-chain and then uses zero-knowledge proofs to tell the mainnet “these transactions are valid,” without revealing their specific details. This approach is like installing a “fast lane” on Ethereum—transactions flow rapidly through this lane, but security is still guaranteed by the main chain.

In contrast, optimistic rollups adopt a “trust but verify” strategy—assuming everything is normal until someone challenges it. ZK rollup, on the other hand, requires each transaction to be proven with a cryptographic proof. The direct benefits are:

• Instant Finality: No need to wait for a 7-day challenge period
• No Trust Assumptions: Does not rely on the honesty of validators
• Enhanced Privacy: Transaction details are cryptographically “locked in a box”

But what are the costs? Complex cryptographic computations mean higher proof generation costs and more demanding technical requirements for developers.

Mainstream Players: Who Is Leading?

Starknet (Market Cap $396.48M): The “nemesis” of quantum threats

Starknet uses STARKs instead of SNARKs, which is a deliberate choice. STARKs do not require a “trusted setup,” meaning no hidden black box. More importantly, when quantum computing arrives, the transparency of STARKs makes them inherently quantum-resistant, whereas SNARKs are more vulnerable.

With a TVL reaching $170M, Starknet has already proven its resilience.

Manta Network (Market Cap $33.81M): The new force in privacy DeFi

If Starknet emphasizes computational efficiency, Manta Pacific focuses on privacy. Fully private transactions implemented with zk-SNARKs allow you to “operate invisibly” in DeFi—no one can see how many tokens you’ve exchanged or what swaps you’ve made.

Since its launch, Manta has become the fourth-largest Layer 2 network in less than two years. Although its market cap isn’t high yet, its growth momentum is worth watching.

zkSync Era (TVL $555M): The most developer-friendly choice

zkSync, developed by Matter Labs, boasts the biggest advantage of EVM compatibility—your Ethereum contracts can run here unchanged. This is a huge attraction for projects looking to migrate quickly to Layer 2.

With a TVL of $555M, it ranks second, just behind Arbitrum (which uses optimistic rollup rather than ZK).

Linea (Market Cap $107.20M): ConsenSys’s “Official Solution”

Launched by the core Ethereum development team behind ConsenSys, Linea also emphasizes EVM compatibility and developer experience. In just two years since its release, it has accumulated $202M TVL, with a rapid growth rate.

Polygon zkEVM (TVL $115M): Ecosystem connector

As an important part of the Polygon ecosystem, zkEVM retains Polygon’s network effects while upgrading to a ZK solution. This allows projects with assets and applications on Polygon to seamlessly upgrade to a more efficient version.

Emerging Forces Not to Be Overlooked

Scroll: Although with only $63M TVL, its low barrier and high throughput are attracting more new projects.

Taiko: Just launched its testnet (January 2024), but its “Based Sequencer” design innovation is worth期待—no longer controlled by a centralized sequencer for transaction ordering, but decided by the main chain itself, fundamentally solving the single point of failure risk in rollups.

Aztec Protocol: Its unique hybrid public-private mode makes it a potential candidate for enterprise applications requiring privacy. The launch of the Noir programming language significantly lowers the barrier for ZK development.

ZKFair and DeGate V1 are taking more specialized routes—前者 focuses on fair trading and anti-arbitrage, 后者 optimizes derivatives trading.

ZetaChain (Market Cap $80.77M), although primarily targeting cross-chain rather than single-chain scaling, its interoperability方案也值得关注。

The Real Challenges and Future of ZK Rollup

Despite many advantages, ZK rollup still faces practical challenges:

1. Proof Generation Costs—Cryptographic computations consume power and money; a perfect balance has yet to be found.

2. Liquidity Fragmentation—Too many zk rollup projects mean users and funds are dispersed. The liquidity advantage of Arbitrum and Optimism is hard to shake in the short term.

3. Cross-Chain Bridge Risks—Moving from Ethereum to Layer 2 and then to other chains involves many links that could fail.

4. Developer Learning Curve—ZK cryptography remains black magic for most developers, making onboarding difficult.

However, these difficulties are being addressed: optimizations of STARKs and SNARKs are ongoing, advanced languages like Noir are abstracting complexity, and cross-chain interoperability protocols are being standardized.

Where Are the Bets in 2025?

From a technical perspective, the competition between STARKs (Starknet, Taiko) and SNARKs (zkSync, Linea) will intensify, with quantum security potentially becoming a new differentiator.

From an application perspective, privacy-focused finance (Manta, Aztec) and derivatives trading (DeGate, ZKFair) are likely to achieve breakthroughs first.

From an ecosystem standpoint, zkSync and Polygon zkEVM, backed by large ecosystems, may not be the most technically aggressive but are most likely to achieve large-scale adoption.

Overall, ZK rollup is no longer a question of “whether it will succeed,” but “who will win.” The ultimate choice depends on what you care about—privacy, performance, security, or developer experience.