Solana Introduces ZK Compression

Solana (SOL) has unveiled an innovative feature called zero-knowledge (ZK) compression, developed with Light Protocol and Helius Lab. This tool helps developers reduce the costs of creating tokens and accounts by compressing their on-chain state.

On June 21, Light Protocol announced its partnership with Helius Labs to introduce ZK compression on Solana. This feature is designed to make application development more scalable by compressing on-chain data, significantly lowering costs while keeping Solana’s security and performance intact.

ZK compression uses zero-knowledge proofs to cut the costs of creating tokens and accounts. These proofs ensure data integrity and allow data retrieval through supported RPC providers. By storing only state roots on-chain and other data on Solana's ledger, developers can minimize on-chain storage expenses.

Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius, emphasized the cost reduction and scalability improvements of ZK compression. “We achieve 10,000x scale improvements by compressing on-chain state, moving closer to creating a global, fast-syncing state machine,” he said.

Austin Federa, Solana’s Head of Strategy, pointed out that this solution addresses the high costs of on-chain account storage. According to him, ZK compression will save costs for tokens and accounts on Solana, enabling more businesses to create on-chain products. “This compression solves a major pain point for institutions and mass-consumer applications,” Federa explained.

Despite the excitement, some in the crypto community argue this feature resembles a layer-2 (L2) network. Adam Cochran believes the compression tool acts as an L2 and that developers are framing it differently. “The Solana team will eventually realize they’ve built an effective L2 feature, which is positive as long as they are honest about it,” Cochran stated.

Ethereum investor Ryan Berckmans also thinks the new product is essentially an L2 and praised L2s as a successful model.

Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana’s co-founder, responded by saying the product works like an L2 but without common drawbacks. He admitted it still has some risks but noted it doesn’t require a multisig security council, switching chain IDs, a governance token, or an external sequencer. “It’s an L2 that avoids many traditional issues while still giving Solana validators all transaction fees,” Yakovenko remarked.

The introduction of ZK compression on Solana is a major advancement, promising to enhance scalability and reduce costs. Although it has sparked debate about its nature, the potential benefits are clear. By cutting costs and improving scalability, ZK compression could lead to wider adoption and innovation on the Solana network.

This feature shows Solana’s commitment to improving blockchain technology and addressing key industry challenges. As the crypto space evolves, innovations like ZK compression will be crucial in shaping the future of decentralized applications and digital assets.