Taiko: Building A Type 1 zkEVM

Taiko aims to build a Type 1 zkEVM solution on top of Ethereum. A Type 1 zkEVM is theoretically indistinguishable from Ethereum itself. In contrast, other types of zkEVM make certain compatibility trade-offs. Type 2s may modify the state tree or EVM slightly, whereas Type 4s only transpile Solidity codes to another programming language native to the zk-compatible virtual machine (VM) environment. The framework for different types of zkEVM was introduced by Vitalik Buterin in his blog post, where he breaks down the nuances in different types of zkEVM as well as the trade-offs made in each type. A summary of the differences and trade-offs can be found in the chart below:

Taiko’s effort focuses on achieving a Type 1 zkEVM mainly because they aim to provide a platform that seamlessly supports smart contracts being migrated to and from Taiko and Ethereum, regardless of how Ethereum may continue to develop in the future. This is an important feature as it would make Taiko a rollup that continuously aligns with Ethereum development and make it an excellent alternative for developers looking to migrate from Ethereum. One may liken this to Optimism’s Ethereum equivalence efforts, but it is arguably much more challenging to create a zk-rollup (ZKR) with Ethereum equivalence.