Arbitrum Founder Dismisses Launch of First Mainnet zkEVM

The co-founder of OffChain Labs, the firm behind layer 2 scaling system Arbitrum, has hit back at firms marketing the launch of products built on an upcoming zkEVM.

zkEVMs are a type of zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup that involve porting over Ethereum smart contracts without requiring a change in code or rules.

Several companies have remarked that a zkEVM will be ready on mainnet before the end of the month. But OffChain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder insisted that this isn't the case.

"We are NOT 12 days away from the first zkEVM on mainnet in any meaningful way," Goldfeder wrote on Twitter. "Anyone pushing this narrative is doing a disservice to the community."

"Lots of teams are making steady progress, but we're not ready for prime time by any means," he continued. "One team is claiming that there are 12 'days remaining to the first product-ready layer 2 EVM compatible zkRollup'. If you read the fine print though, their testnet still doesn't have zk-proofs enabled, no security audits."

Offchain Labs recently acquired Prysmatic Labs, one of the core engineering teams behind Ethereum's transition to proof-of-stake.

Read more: Bernstein: Arbitrum Has Strongest User Momentum Among Leading Blockchains