Kroma Network

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27 Jan 2024

I will explain what the Ethereum Layer2 project, Chroma, is currently ongoing on the galxe site.

Introduction to Kroma

Kroma is a developer-friendly, rollup-based Ethereum Layer 2 solution that offers low fees and scalability with EVM equivalence.

TL;DR
Kroma was created to help many users onboard to Web 3.0 and directly contribute to the scaling of Ethereum. Deploy your DApps on the upcoming Kroma testnet and experience low fees and fast transaction processing speeds.

Introduction

Kroma is a rollup-based Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) blockchain. To fully understand Kroma, you will need to have knowledge of Ethereum, rollups, ZK-EVM, and a few other technical concepts. We will briefly introduce these concepts in this post, but if you want to learn more, we recommend reading the following articles:

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology managed through a peer-to-peer network, using distributed processing and cryptography to allow network participants to form a trusted marketplace without relying on third parties. Bitcoin has shown that it can be an efficient means of storing and exchanging value, while Ethereum, which can execute smart contracts, has demonstrated the potential to expand the use of blockchain to many new areas.

Blockchain Trilemma

Due to its decentralized storing of data, blockchain suffers from the so-called blockchain trilemma: it is seemingly impossible to simultaneously be secure, decentralized, and scalable. While blockchain technology embodies the values of censorship resistance and decentralization, it is also limited in scalability. Scalability is the main hurdle that must be overcome for the blockchain industry to gain mainstream adoption.
Ethereum has encountered a critical problem with its limited scalability, in that its limited maximum number of transactions it can handle, results in surging gas costs as the number of users increases. Despite EIP-1559’s success in reducing the variability of fees and stabilizing them, exorbitant fees continue to impede widespread adoption of the Ethereum platform.
Many solutions have been proposed to address Ethereum’s scalability issues, including sharding, sidechains, state channels, plasma, validium, and rollups. While some solutions such as sidechains and validium, which run in parallel to Ethereum and interact with it through bridges, allow users to process more transactions at lower fees, no solutions provide Ethereum-level data availability and security.

Rollups

Over the years, Ethereum has struggled to find a scalability solution that does not compromise the values of security and decentralization.
Currently, there is strong support in the Ethereum community for Layer 2 (L2) as a solution that can do just that. An L2 is a separate blockchain that extends Ethereum and inherits its guaranteed security. L2s reduce transaction fees by combining multiple off-chain transactions into a single L1 (Ethereum mainnet) transaction. Transactions are settled on the Ethereum mainnet, so users still benefit from the security of the Ethereum network.
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin made it clear in his 2020 article that rollups are the preferred scalability solution for Ethereum by presenting an Ethereum upgrade strategy centered on rollups.
Rollups can be categorized into ‘Optimistic rollups’ and ‘ZK rollups’ based on their proof method.

Optimistic Rollups

Optimistic Rollup (ORU) is a method that optimistically processes all transactions in the L2 without any validation because it assumes that they are valid. However, before the ‘state root’ containing the transaction data is reflected in Ethereum, there is a sufficient waiting time and dispute period to detect whether the transactions that occurred in L2 are correct or not. During this period (typically 7 days), if you suspect that a transaction is wrong, you can dispute it, and depending on the outcome, the validator who raised the issue can be rewarded and the validator who processed it incorrectly can be punished.
The advantage of optimistic rollups is compatibility with EVMs. However, a disadvantage is that users cannot withdraw their funds during the dispute period. Several bridge services mitigate this, but charge high fees in return. Long withdrawal periods or high withdrawal fees can be burdensome for users who cross L1 and L2 and utilize multiple services.

ZK Rollups

A ZK Rollup (ZKR) validates all transactions that occur in the L2 and utilizes zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) technology to validate them. Unlike Optimistic rollups, it has the advantage that withdrawing funds can be processed instantly since transactions are validated before being reflected in Ethereum. Additionally, it has the practical benefit of saving gas during the rollup process, as it only publishes the data and proofs needed to restore state.
Recently, as ZK Rollup technology has matured, several zkEVM projects (zkSync, Polygon zkEVM, and Scroll) with EVM compatibility have been announced. However, the cost and time to generate a proof is high enough to make immediate commercialization unrealistic.

Kroma

The L2 market has garnered significant attention and focus, and our team comprehends the pros and cons of various rollup solutions. Our focus is on researching and developing enhancements that can boost the stability and performance of L2. Above all, our team is developing Kroma to create a more user-friendly and functional L2 experience.
As a latecomer to the L2 market, we utilize open source code from leaders in the blockchain space for efficient development. The use of high-quality code ensures a smooth development process, community cooperation, and continuous development updates. We value knowledge sharing and cooperation to pursue the “Community Oriented Ways” culture of the ZK ecosystem. Our objective is to address technical issues and complexities to deliver high-quality and stable products. We recognize the significance and benefits of open-source technology and aspire to contribute to L2’s advancement, extending beyond just resolving Ethereum’s scalability issues. Our goal is to foster the growth of the blockchain ecosystem through effective communication between developers and users.
We would like to thank all the project teams, including OP Stack, PSE, and Scroll teams, who are leaders in the L2 market for their research efforts.

Advantages of Rollup

Kroma is a rollup-based L2 blockchain. We are trying to inherit the advantages of Optimistic rollups and ZK rollups while addressing their respective limitations. Kroma is striving for EVM compatibility, making it easier for existing Ethereum developers to onboard.
However, as zkEVM is not yet mature enough to be realistically utilized, we plan to evolve Kroma through a two-step approach, transitioning from an Optimistic Rollup to an EVM Equivalent ZK Rollup. Unlike other teams working on ORU, we are using zkEVM to create fault proofs and using zk-friendly ZK Trie and Poseidon hashes from the optimistic rollup phase onwards, allowing for a gradual migration from ORU to ZKR without major changes to the network.

Efforts to Contribute ZK

We will also foster a “community-driven” culture to further develop ZK. Our goal is to provide innovative products and services to the global community as blockchain technology continues to advance.

Decentralization

We believe ‘Decentralization’ is the reason Bitcoin was created and is an important topic for all blockchain projects. Vitalik Buterin lays out the meaning of decentralization well in his article “The Meaning of Decentralization”, and we couldn’t agree more. Recently, many teams in the L2 market have been working on decentralizing Sequencer, but no clear solution has emerged yet. Kroma is working on decentralizing Sequencer in collaboration with passionate researchers who are renowned in their fields of expertise.

What does “Kroma” mean?

Kroma, derived from the Greek word “chroma”, means creating an L2 that is more vibrant, lively, scalable, and capable of organic operations. To achieve this goal as a Ethereum L2, we are trying to pursue following goals.

Philosophy

Every decision we make is informed by our philosophy. Our core values, which guide our decision-making process, can be summarized as follows.

Pragmatic

‘Ambition meets practicality’

We are aware of the hurdles that blockchain platforms such as Ethereum are facing, including the various barriers preventing wider adoption of the technology. Instead of simply talking about the future, we are focused on creating practical and useful systems and solutions for developers, builders, and users. This way, we are able to tackle the challenges head-on.

Adaptive

We do not reinvent the wheel, we make it better

At the heart of the blockchain industry is an open ecosystem where participants are encouraged to build on the work of others. By making impactful changes that focus on the essence of the problem, we are able to solve problems in a way that is innovative and reinforces continuity. Our approach is to enhance the safety, speed, and efficiency of existing solutions, rather than starting from scratch.

User Friendly

Empowering easy use and understanding

We prioritize user-friendliness in our products by ensuring complete simplicity and ease of use. Our goal is to allow developers to participate in our ecosystem with ease, without having to acquire new knowledge or navigate through a maze of configurations. A user-friendly design will attract more participants and make the ecosystem a more enjoyable experience for everyone.

Do you want to join Kroma ecosystem?

Kroma Testnet will be released within a month. It will provide a network environment to deploy DApps. (We will provide guides for users and developers)
In the testnet, the nodes are operated by Kroma. We plan to gradually decentralize the authority of the nodes to allow as many people as possible to participate. We are an open-source-oriented team and welcome contributions. If you are interested in contributing, please visit our GitHub.
Want to be one of the first to deploy your or your team’s project to Kroma? please join our discord and contact us via the #contact-us channel.

Join the Community

If you want to keep up with our updates, please follow us on Twitter or join our Discord channel. If you have any questions or topics you’d like to discuss, feel free to contact us anytime.