Why Scroll’s zkEVM bytecode compatibility matters now

The Ethereum Foundation’s Strategic Shift

The Ethereum Foundation changed its grant strategy in mid-2025. The Ecosystem Support Program saw demand grow from $3 million across 105 projects in 2024 to $32.6 million in the first quarter of 2025. This influx caused the foundation to pause open submissions and adopt a curated approach. It now selects projects that align with strategic priorities like layer-1 scaling, interoperability, and security. The foundation targets the reduction of gas costs and network congestion to compete with chains like Solana and BNB Smart Chain. The Ethereum Foundation manages its vast treasury by following a strict formula that limits annual spending to 15% of the total while maintaining a reserve sufficient to cover 2.5 years of all its necessary and essential ongoing operational expenses. The foundation funds these initiatives by selling 1,000 ETH via CoW Swap for approximately $4.5 million. This transaction used a decentralized protocol to support network priorities and auditable DeFi initiatives. Projects that focus on user experience, formal verification, or infrastructure hardening find better chances under this new model. Previously, the foundation awarded over $21 million to various projects, with scaling initiatives being a frequent recipient.

Scroll and the Efficiency of ZK-Rollups

Scroll is a Type 1 zkEVM that targets full Ethereum equivalency. It uses the GETH client to remain compatible with Layer 1 dApps. This architecture allows developers to port existing smart contracts without significant code changes. Because it emulates Ethereum closely, this type of zkEVM results in slower prover times. This trade-off exists because generating zero-knowledge proofs requires significant computation. ZK-rollups like Scroll bundle transactions off-chain and then publish a succinct mathematical proof, called a SNARK, to the mainnet. This process confirms the validity of the transactions without revealing specific details. ZK-rollups can handle up to 40,000 transactions per second, which is a massive improvement over the 20 transactions per second limit of the Ethereum base layer. You should remember that this technology allows for near-immediate finality and scalability. Scroll is currently in Phase 3, having launched an alpha testnet on Goerli. ZK-rollups reduce the computational load on the Ethereum network by using compact representations of transactions. Will the pursuit of full equivalency eventually stall the growth of faster, less compatible alternatives?

Comparing Rollup Architectures

Rollup selection depends on specific needs for speed, cost, and compatibility. Optimistic rollups like Arbitrum and Optimism rely on fraud proofs and a seven-day challenge period for withdrawals. ZK-rollups like Polygon zkEVM and zkSync Era use validity proofs to settle transactions. Polygon zkEVM is an EVM-equivalent rollup that works with the Solidity language natively. It uses a security council of seven signers, four of whom must approve any upgrades. In contrast, zkSync Era is an EVM-compatible rollup that uses an LLVM compiler to translate code from languages like Solidity and Vyper.

ZK-rollups can achieve confirmation times between 150 and 300 milliseconds. Polygon zkEVM reported average gas fees of 0.000294 ETH per transaction. Developers must choose between the ease of migration in EVM-equivalent systems and the performance of other models, specifically choosing between the speed of prover generation and the depth of existing library support. ZK-rollups also offer censorship resistance because sequencers cannot alter generated proofs. Unlike the on-chain data model of the EVM, ZK-rollups use an off-chain data model to improve scalability. This allows for the bundling of multiple transactions into a single batch, a process that helps lower costs. In 2024, business owners earned nearly 300 million USD in profits from these service models. ZK-rollups reduce withdrawal waiting periods as they do not require a dispute period.