Preface
Taiko Protocol is ZK Rollup Layer 2 on Ethereum. It is still in the test network stage and is currently quite smooth to use (a few people have stuck problems). It is fine for my personal use. However, the current Gas of the test network is still a bit higher than other Layer 2. This will depend on whether Cancun can be effectively solved after the upgrade.
The project has not yet released a token economic model. It can be expected that the token $TKO will be issued when the mainnet is launched in the future. Therefore, this article will introduce Taiko Protocol and let everyone take a look at what this project that even V God once praised is doing? At the same time, we also sort out what interactive activities you can participate in currently.
Taiko introduction
Taiko is the Ethereum equivalent of ZK Rollup, scaling Ethereum by supporting all EVM opcodes in a decentralized, permissionless and secure Layer2 architecture. Different from other ZK Rollups, Taiko aims to become a ZK Rollup that is completely equivalent to Ethereum. Simulating Ethereum itself at the technical and principle level allows DApp developers and users of Ethereum Layer 1 to move to Taiko painlessly. Make it easier for DApps to be deployed on Layer 2, inherit the security of Ethereum, and at the same time generate lower transaction fees than the main network.
Technical features
Taiko technology aims to achieve the expansion of Ethereum computing through ZK Rollup. Its unique feature is that it can seamlessly support EVM comprehensive calculations and is fully compatible with existing Ethereum smart contracts and DApps. It overcomes the problem that ZK Rollup in current production can only support specific Application limitations.
Taiko is designed as a type-1 ZK-EVM, prioritizing full EVM/Ethereum equivalence, even at the expense of proof generation speed.
Taiko's system consists of three parts: ZK-EVM, Layer2 Rollup node and Taiko Protocol
ZK-EVM guarantees the accuracy of EVM calculations on Rollup through validity proof, can directly run Ethereum smart contract code, supports all EVM opcodes, and works seamlessly with Ethereum and Solidity tools. This provides developers with a familiar development experience without changing workflows, while also providing a risk-free porting opportunity for long-running smart contracts.
Layer2 Rollup nodes manage the Rollup chain, and Taiko Protocol connects these pieces for protocol validation, maintaining the core principles of security, decentralization, and permissions. Focused on equivalence with Ethereum, Taiko is designed to use existing Ethereum infrastructure and plans to keep pace with future updates to the Ethereum protocol.
Taiko announced the official launch of the Katla testnet (Alpha-6) on January 15th, with three main updates:
Based Contestable Rollup（BCR）：
It is an innovative solution designed to improve the scalability of Ethereum, achieving more efficient transaction processing by packaging transactions on the side chain and verifying them on the main chain. The characteristic of BCR is its "disputability", which allows users to challenge wrong or fraudulent transactions, thereby enhancing system security.
This approach increases transaction speed and reduces costs while retaining decentralization and security. BCR has improved the scalability of the Ethereum ecosystem and provided users with faster and more economical transaction solutions; at the same time, through Katla, four layers of multiple certification configurations can be realized: Optimistic certification, SGX certification, SGX +zkEVM certificate and guardian certificate as shown below.
Cross-chain bridge update: Fixed some errors.
Blockchain Explorer Update: Adjusted UI/UX to make blockchain statistics look more intuitive.
In addition to these original plans, Taiko is actually also trying to present its own architecture in a modular way. However, because the technical information is too complicated, if you are interested, you can read the official article "Taiko’s Approach to Multi-Proofs".
Team background
The development team of Taiko Protocol is Taiko Labs, which has past development experience with Loopring, and Loopring was the first ZK Rollup deployed on Ethereum. The team members currently known are as follows:
Matthew Finestone: Taiko’s co-founder and chief operating officer, who previously served as business director at Loopring.
Brecht Devos: Taiko's co-founder and chief technology officer. He once worked at Loopring as chief architect and worked on the development of PSE's zkEVM project with researchers and engineers from the Ethereum Foundation and other open source projects.
Terence Lam: Co-founder and chief security officer of Taiko. He has more than 25 years of experience in the world's top 500 technology companies.
Daniel Wang (王东): is the co-founder of Taiko and Loopring. He has served as the technical director of Zhongan Insurance, JD.com, etc.
Loan overview
September 2022: Completed a 10 million seed round of financing from Hongshan*, Hash Global, Yunqi Partners, WWVentures, BAI Capital, GGV Capital, Kucoin Ventures, IOSG Ventures, Patricio Worthalter, Tim Beiko, and Anthony Sassal.
June 8, 2023: Completed $12 million in Pre-Series A financing from Generative Ventures*, Mirana Ventures, OKX Ventures, Skyland Ventures, Token Bay Capital, GSR, WWVentures, Mapleblock, MH Ventures.
social media metrics
Number of followers of X: 657,000
Asset Whale: 39th
NFT whale: 80 bits
Although it is much less than the current ZK Rollups, it can be seen from the sentiment indicator of TrendX that the discussion in the past month is considered "very positive". It can also be seen that this year’s updates and information have made many people in the market more optimistic about Taiko’s development.
way of participation
Since it is still in the testnet stage, remember to add the Katla testnet to Chainlist first.
Network name: Taiko Katla L2
Network URL: https://taiko-katla.blockpi.network/v1/rpc/public
Chain ID: 167008
Currency code: ETH
Blockchain explorer: https://explorer.katla.taiko.xyz
Get test tokens
You must first obtain the Ethereum for testing on the Holesky test network of Ethereum, and then go to Taiko's Katla test network through the official cross-chain. Only by doing any operations in the future will you have enough Gas to execute. The three Holesky Faucet are:
QuickNode
PoW Faucet
FaucetLink
I personally use PoW Faucet because the interface is simple (crude?) and fast. After confirming that I have received Holesky’s Ethereum, I can transfer the Ethereum to Katla through the official cross-chain bridge.
What should be noted here is that after the cross-chain signing is completed, your cross-chain transaction can be displayed in "Transactions". If "Claim" appears in "Status", you can ignore it for now. According to the official statement, it will automatically be processed after 24 hours. Help you with the Claim (the actual test is correct).
interactive testing
Layer3's "Intro to Taiko"
Layer3 is the website where I most often see what interactive tasks can be done. Basically, most of the well-known ecosystems can find tasks here.
Find "Intro to Taiko" through search, and then just follow the six steps indicated.
According to the official announcement on December 8 last year, there are still three interactive tasks that can be performed.
1. Build a wallet powered by account abstraction via Particle Network (@ParticleNtwrk). You can refer to the official video tutorial, but remember to first turn on the "Smart Account" function from the settings in the upper right corner of Paritcle Wallet.
2. Obtain the ".taiko" domain name from DotTaiko Domains (@dottaikodomains).
3. Complete Galxe’s mission. There are currently two missions, namely:
"Trust Bonus": As long as your Gitcoin Passport score is greater than 20 and you are a Galxe Passport Holder, you can claim 2,500 points.
"Journey Through Learning & Fun on Taiko's A6 Testnet": It is divided into 8 tasks in total. It is too simple and I will not go into details here. The only things that need special explanation are:
The answers to the third answering task are: CACDC.
For the sixth and seventh missions, since you have to play three games of "Crypto Rumble", you can collect more test ether coins beforehand. The game is a simple match-3 game, so it shouldn't be difficult.
in conclusion
Because I very much agree with what Vitalik said: "Although in the short term, the development of Ethereum will be dominated by Optimistic Rollup, in the long run ZK Rollup will become the mainstream." So as long as Layer 2 of ZK Rollup is adopted, I would be more willing to take the time to understand.
In addition, Taiko has been working hard for two years. As long as it is a project that is willing to work hard and not give up during the bear market, to be honest, it is worth participating and studying. Although it is much later than those who participated in 2022, but isn’t that what the encryption industry is like?
As long as it is a project that you have studied carefully and feel is good and can be developed in the long term, it is never too late to participate.
I haven’t written a research article like this for a long time. I just have time during the Chinese New Year, so I can give myself more time to do research and creation. If you like this article and read it, please like and forward it.
References
Taiko Doc
Taiko Labs Github
Taiko Labs Mirror
Further reading
Web3 Compass TrendX launched in DAO mode, is the token airdrop coming soon?
Layer 2 "Mantle Network" initiated by BitDAO, determined to promote the popularization of Web3
