Aggregations have emerged as the most favorable scaling solution. Many zk projects are trying to access resources on Ethereum through EVM compatibility. With Ethereum-equivalent ZK compilations being the most promising type of synthesis and this is where Taiko comes in. So what is the Layer 2 blockchain claiming to be the decentralized ZK-Rollup, what is this Ethereum equivalent, and how does it work? Let’s find out through this Taiko review.

What is Taiko?

Taiko is a Layer 2 blockchain built on zkEVM technology fully compatible with Ethereum. It has the ability to scale for Ethereum both technically and non-technically by supporting all zkEVM code in a decentralized and secure manner.

This blockchain’s primary goal is to provide an efficient and scalable platform for developers and users of decentralized applications (dApps), allowing them to leverage the power of Ethereum Layer 1 (L1) without having to make any changes to their existing dApps.

ZK-EVM is equivalent to Ethereum

Taiko is building ZK-EVM Type 1, designed to achieve full compatibility with Ethereum by incorporating ZK-EVM supporting all EVM opcodes. Its primary goal as a Class 1 ZK-EVM is to emphasize Ethereum’s parity concerning the speed of ZK proof generation. The term “type 1” originates from these ZK-EVMs introducing no changes to the Ethereum framework, including hash functions, state trees, or gas costs. This compatibility allows the reuse of executable clients with minimal adjustments.

The main benefit is that developers can deploy their Ethereum dApps on Taiko without any modifications while still running smoothly on Taiko, saving developers time and Engage existing EVM developers.

Such high-level compatibility eliminates the need for developers to rewrite their dApps, saving time and effort while ensuring a smooth transition, and improving Taiko adoption among developers. This focus on compatibility is what sets this blockchain apart from other ZK-EVMs on the market, as not all ZK-EVMs allow EVM code to work without changes.

Furthermore, its aims to scale Ethereum while preserving its technical and fundamentals, making it a promising solution for the future growth of the blockchain ecosystem.

The technical structure

There are three main components in Taiko’s engineering structure: ZK-EVM circuit (for proofing), Layer 2 Rollup Node (to manage rollup chain) and the protocol on L1 (to connect these two to verify the rollup protocol). These components work together to ensure seamless compatibility with Ethereum L1, providing developers and users with a familiar experience.

zkEVM

zkEVM proves the accuracy of EVM calculations on Rollup with valid proofs. This blockchain can run Ethereum smart contract code without any changes. Developers can migrate their smart contracts and Dapps on Ethereum to Taiko easily.

Taiko implements zkEVM support for all EVM opcodes and generates a proof-of-concept for the ZK-EVM circuit. Besides the perfect compatibility with smart contracts and dapps, all Ethereum and Solidity tools work seamlessly with this blockchain. In addition, it uses Ethereum infrastructure by being compatible with this blockchain and allows open-source Ethereum clients such as Nethermind and Erigon to be reused as Taiko nodes.

Layer 2 Rollup Node

Taiko nodes will collect data from Ethereum and execute transactions on Layer 2. Then the status will be displayed after each transaction execution. Currently, its node is a fork of Ethereum Geth.

Taiko protocol

This Protocol defines and enforces the rules of the Rollup and finds potential participants. Taiko is designed to uphold the core principles of decentralization and security.

Smart contracts (smart contracts) deployed on Ethereum serve as the data delivery mechanism and verifier of ZK-SNARK proofs. The smart contract deployed on this blockchain performs several important functions, such as reusing the programmability of the EVM to enforce certain protocol properties.

Mechanism of Action

Blocks in the Taiko blockchain are a collection of transactions executed sequentially on it. New blocks can be added to the chain for state updates and calculated by following the protocol’s rules for executing transactions. The block submission process is divided into two parts:

Block proposal

When a block is proposed, the block data is published on Ethereum, and the block is added to the proposed block list stored in the TaikoL1 contract. Once registered, the protocol ensures that all block properties are immutable. This makes block execution deterministic: the state after the block can now be computed by anyone. As such, the block is verified immediately. This also ensures that no one knows more about the latest state than anyone else, which would give an unfair advantage.

Block verification

Because the block was verified after it was proposed, the verifier cannot have any impact on how the block is executed and what the state after the block is. All relevant inputs for proof generation are verified directly or indirectly on L1 to achieve definite block transitions. Since all the proposed blocks are deterministic, they can be proven in parallel because all intermediate states between the blocks are known and unique. We call the block on-chain verification after the proof is submitted for the block and its parent block.

Highlights of Taiko

Fully compatible with EVM (zkEVM type 1)

The type 1 zkEVM that Taiko is adopting works fully compatible with Ethereum. This makes it possible for developers to migrate DApps between Ethereum and this blockchain without risking smart contract failures. The time to reprogram old features will be shortened, and more resources will be available to develop new features if the project on Ethereum wants to scale up operations on Taiko and vice versa.

Open source (Open-source)

All Taiko’s source code is available on GitHub, anyone can view, build or edit the source code. So blockchain’s development is not limited to just a tiny team but is also contributed by a large community and developers worldwide. This gives the project a higher level of source code diversity and quality.

Completely decentralized

In addition to its high compatibility with EVM, Taiko also strongly focuses on protocol decentralization. While most Rollup networks prioritize performance and gradually increase decentralization, Taiko plans to launch with decentralized proposers (orderers) that submit blocks and proofs to generate ZKPs. This highlights how much Taiko values decentralization, as none of the Rollups currently feature a decentralized sequencer.

In addition, the development team has also announced the priority plan for the development of the DAO and will reveal the specifics of the plan in the future.

Taiko’s token 

Taiko doesn’t have an own token yet but has confirmed to launch an own token called “TKO”. Early users who have done testnet actions may get an airdrop when they launch their token.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Step 1: Add network to wallet

Visit the Chainlist website: https://chainlist.org

Search for Taiko keyword (Alpha-2 Testnet) and select Add Chain or you can add it manually:

• Network Name: Taiko (Alpha-2 Testnet)
• Network URL: https://rpc.a2.taiko.xyz
• Chain ID: 167004
• Currency symbol: ETH

Similar to Sepia:

• Network name: Sepolia
• Network URL: https://rpc.sepolia.org
• Chain ID: 11155111
• Currency symbol: ETH

Adding Bull and Horse tokens to Taiko network (ALpha-2 Testnet):

• Contract Bull (BLL): 0x6048e5ca54c021D39Cd33b63A44980132bcFA66d
• Contract Horse (HOUSE): 0xCea5BFE9542eDf828Ebc2ed054CA688f0224796f

Step 2: Get Faucet token testnet

There are 2 ways to faucet ETH testnet:

• Method 1: Visit the website https://sepolia-faucet.pk910.de/, enter the wallet address and verify it is not Robot, then select Start Mining.
• Method 2: Go to Quicknode.com website, select ETH chain and Sepolia network, then enter wallet address and proceed to faucet ETH.

Visit website https://bridge.a2.taiko.xyz/ to faucet tokens BLL and HORSE, each mint will get 50 tokens.

Step 3: Bridge token from Sepolia to Taiko

• Visit: https://bridge.a2.taiko.xyz/
• Transfer (Bridge) ETH from Sepolia to Taiko.
• Similarly we also bridge tokens like HORSE and BLL to Taiko.
• Claim token is bridged at transaction section.

Step 4: Swap tokens and add liquidity

• Visit: https://taiko.xyz/docs/guides/swap-tokens.
• Swap ETH to HORSE and with other pairs.

• Make more liquidity pairs like HORSE/ETH, BLL/ETH, …

• Repeat the above steps with other tokens. You should repeat every day to increase your chances of receiving the airdrop.
• Also, you can refer to running node for the project. See details at: https://taiko.xyz/docs/guides/run-a-node.

Roadmap

In December 2022, this blockchain launched the Alpha-1 Test Network.

In March 2023, it launched the Alpha-2 Test Network with permissionless proofers and partial ZK-EVM circuits.

In the meantime are other milestones on the way to the Mainnet with full ZK-EVM circuits, decentralized proposals, and decentralized proofs planned for early 2024.

Conclusion – Taiko Review

The famous blockchain trilogy claims that only two of the three properties can be achieved: decentralization, security, and scalability. However, Ethereum-equivalent ZK compilations allow the selection of all three components without compromising scale.

Taiko seeks to solve the Ethereum scaling problem while maintaining a familiar Ethereum experience for users and developers. It is a promising decentralized Layer 2 blockchain protocol that leverages the Ethereum Zero Knowledge Virtual Machine (ZK-EVM) and ZK pools. As a ZK-Rollup fully equivalent to Ethereum, Taiko aims to maintain decentralization, security, compatibility, and simplicity to attract more developers and users. With the alpha test network underway, it is well on its way to becoming a user-friendly and accessible platform for Ethereum developers and users.

DISCLAIMER: The Information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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