As a seasoned analyst with over two decades of experience in the tech and crypto industries, I find this partnership between Polygon Labs and Fabric to be a game-changer. The development of custom chips optimized for zero-knowledge cryptography processing is not just a step forward; it’s a giant leap that could potentially compress the adoption timeline of this technology from decades to mere months.


On Tuesday, Polygon Labs, a significant player in the development of Ethereum layer-2 networks, announced the launch of a novel computer chip designed for efficient processing of zero-knowledge cryptography. This chip, custom-made by hardware manufacturer Fabric, is specifically engineered to support Polygon’s interoperability solution, AggLayer.

Recently, it was reported that Fabric, who previously announced a $33 million Series A funding round last month, has seen Polygon Labs join as a participant. This investment aims to develop “verifiable processing units,” or VPUs, which are custom chips specifically designed for cryptography and blockchain applications.

The team at Polygon ZK (Zero-Knowledge) is collaborating with Fabric to develop Verifiable Proofs of Updates (VPUs) for their prover libraries, Plonky2 and Plonky3. These provers play a crucial role in blockchain systems that employ zero-knowledge cryptography, an innovative design aspect that gained significant attention within the crypto sector last year, and remains a primary focus for Polygon.

The AggLayer serves as a bridge within the Polygon ecosystem, facilitating smooth and effortless token transfers across linked blockchain platforms.

In their recent announcement, Polygon Labs stated that they will partner with a new contributor, Fabric, to speed up AggLayer’s project timeline by creating software that can execute Plonky2 and Plonky3 on the VPU. Furthermore, Polygon Labs will collaborate with Fabric to make future iterations of the VPU more effective in supporting AggLayer’s long-term plans.

Additionally, it was disclosed that Polygon Labs plans to procure server systems valued at $5 million, powered by VPUs, in line with today’s news. This move aims to expedite the development of Zero-Knowledge proof projects on the AggLayer.

According to Polygon’s co-founder Mihailo Bjelic, as stated in a press release, Fabric’s VPUs (Verifiable Privacy Units) could potentially speed up the general acceptance of zero-knowledge technology from three to five years to just six months to a year and a half. This technological implementation by Polygon Labs is expected to significantly expedite the creation of the AggLayer, delivering real-time, cost-effective proofs that were previously believed to be years away. Furthermore, it’s anticipated that the costs associated with providing these proofs in the near future will be much lower than previously envisioned in the short term.

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2024-09-10 16:15