ZKsync price

Written by: Haotian A very meaningful perspective, this seems to be a long-standing positive interpretation of Ethereum layer2s: the real value of layer2s is an "experimental innovation sandbox". For example, @arbitrum can explore DAO governance, @Optimism can implement the RetroPGF funding mechanism, @base can try CEX integration, @zksync can promote account abstraction, etc., these innovations would be too risky if implemented directly on the mainnet, but even if they fail on layer2, they will not jeopardize the entire ecosystem. And interestingly, seemingly different layer2s can serve completely different user groups, such as enterprise chains that focus on compliance, privacy chains that advertise censorship-resistant, game chains that can achieve high-frequency transactions, and so on. It seems that there are indeed many layer2+layer3 solutions built on the basis of various Stack stacks, and although they have not become the expected saviors of blood transfusions for Ethereum, they have indeed made outstanding contributions in experimenting with the "diversity" of scalability solutions. Of course, it can be said that they are all ultimately issuing tokens, but there is an underlying logic: they at least inherit and inherit Ethereum's decentralized security features to some extent. Otherwise, with the current star product @HyperliquidX and the independent exclusive chain layer1 thinking that some Wall Street Giant giants want to do, although they can achieve a silky upgrade in experience, they are essentially sacrificing decentralization in exchange for ultimate performance, and these independent chains are also likely to issue tokens. Therefore, there is actually a very clear path in front of layer2, abandoning the big and comprehensive thinking of the General-Purpose chain, and how to explore Sepecific-Chain under the new Mass Adoption needs is the right way, such as how to introduce well-known game IPs, how to meet the privacy transaction and compliance, how to serve the high-frequency interaction needs of AI Agents, how to provide compliant face-to-face channels for RWA assets, etc. In other words, as long as Layer2s abandon the involution of simple technical architecture, abandon the grand and all-encompassing obsession of universal chains, and focus on business integration with TradFi, the situation of Layer2 may not be as pessimistic as everyone thinks.

Paris-based cryptography company Zama has rapidly risen from a crypto startup to a high-profile privacy computing platform in just a few years, attracting the attention of many top venture capitalists around the world. The company has completed Series A financing of $73 million and Series B financing of $57 million, with a total financing amount of $130 million. So, what are the key factors behind Zama's success? This article will analyze the team's background, FHE track potential, project technical progress, future prospects, and current challenges. 01. Team background: the integration of academics and practical combat The core team of Zama was founded by Rand Hindi in collaboration with Pascal Paillier. Rand Hindi, known as a "geek prodigy", has been programming since he was 10 years old and created a social networking site that is popular in France at the age of 14, according to public information. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a PhD in Bioinformatics from University College London. Prior to founding Zama, Hindi successfully launched and sold Snips, an AI voice platform, demonstrating exceptional entrepreneurial and commercialization capabilities. Another co-founder and CTO, Dr. Pascal Paillier, is one of the founders of fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) technology and has more than 25 years of research experience in the field of cryptography. He holds about 25 patents, published dozens of academic papers, won the Asiacrypt Best Paper Award in 2005, and is a core member of the International Association for Cryptographic Research (IACR). Unlike many blockchain project teams that operate on small scales and rely on outsourcing, Zama's team size has grown to about 75 people, nearly half of whom have PhDs or master's degrees in cryptography, machine learning, or blockchain. This high-density technical talent allocation enhances the credibility and execution of the team in the eyes of the outside world. It can be argued that Paillier's academic depth combined with Hindi's entrepreneurial experience, coupled with the team's highly qualified background, has earned Zama the confidence of investors. 02. FHE Track: The "Holy Grail" of Cryptography? In blockchain, transparency and privacy protection are often difficult to balance. Users want their data to be publicly verifiable, and they want sensitive information not to be compromised. The breakthrough of fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) technology provides a feasible solution to this contradiction. Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) offers a breakthrough solution: It allows computations to be performed directly on encrypted data without the need for decryption. This means that data can remain encrypted throughout the entire process of transmission, storage and calculation, so as to achieve "the openness of the openness, the confidentiality of the confidentiality". Compared to technologies like zero-knowledge proofs (ZK), FHE focuses more on "privacy computing," while ZK is primarily used for "privacy verification." The two are not substitutes, but complementary coexistence: ZK is suitable for proofing, FHE is suitable for computation, and their combination is expected to support a truly privacy-preserving Web 3 ecosystem in the future This is also an important reason why Zama is considered to have long-term strategic value: FHE can meet compliance needs in various fields such as finance, identity, healthcare, AI, etc., thus opening up the possibility of large-scale commercialization. 03. Technological progress: The performance has been significantly improved, but it is still in the early stages After completing the Series A financing in March 2024, Zama quickly completed the Series B financing in June this year just one year later, which in the author's opinion is largely due to the significant improvement in ZAMA's technical performance. According to the team, since its inception in 2020, Zama's FHE computational efficiency has increased by about 100 times. In terms of hardware support, Zama currently leverages GPUs to achieve throughput of hundreds of transactions per second, and is working on dedicated acceleration chips based on FPGAs and ASICs to further improve performance. According to information from June 2024, Zama can currently process around 20 transactions per second. In my opinion, this is still a gap compared to mainstream blockchains, although the team plans to increase throughput to "10,000+ tps" through specialized hardware such as ASICs. Whether this goal is achievable still needs to be verified in practice. 04. Future vision: build an end-to-end encrypted Internet In terms of vision, Zama has made it clear that it will not be limited to the blockchain space. The company has proposed the concept of "HTTPZ", which aims to drive the evolution of the Internet's next-generation protocol from HTTPS to end-to-end encryption. HTTPZ will provide end-to-end encryption computing power for the entire internet, keeping data encrypted at all levels. This vision extends far beyond blockchain to encompass the broader digital world. Zama plans to launch its mainnet on Ethereum in the fourth quarter of 2025, with application scenarios covering confidential finance, privacy DeFi, on-chain identity and management, artificial intelligence data markets, and other fields. As the global emphasis on data privacy increases, FHE technology is poised to gradually enter mainstream applications, and Zama, as a leading project in this field, has a significant first-mover advantage. 05. Challenges and prospects Despite its outstanding performance in technology accumulation and capital support, Zama still faces numerous challenges. FHE technology has high computing overhead and strong hardware dependence, and the actual implementation needs to overcome performance bottlenecks and cost problems. In addition, the TPS is still low at this stage, and how to attract developers and users to use FHE tools and establish network effects will be a key test. However, Zama has gained initial recognition in the market with its solid team background, clear technical path and broad application prospects. Its $130 million funding not only reflects capital's confidence in FHE technology but also reflects the immense potential in privacy computing. Whether Zama can truly become a giant in the next generation of blockchain and even internet privacy infrastructure will still take time and market test.