Canto, a decentralized social media platform, has announced its plans to migrate into a ZK-powered Layer 2 on Ethereum. This move will enable Canto to scale its operations, reduce gas fees, and enhance user privacy. Canto is a platform that allows users to create, share, and monetize content in a censorship-resistant way. Canto aims to empower creators and communities with the tools and incentives to build a more open and diverse internet.
However, Canto has faced some challenges due to the limitations of the Ethereum mainnet, such as high transaction costs, low throughput, and exposure of user data. To overcome these issues, Canto has decided to leverage the power of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and Layer 2 solutions.
One of the main challenges that Canto faces is how to achieve high throughput and low latency without compromising on security and decentralization. To address this challenge, Canto is exploring the use of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) as a way to enhance its layer 2 solution.
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
ZKPs are cryptographic techniques that allow one party to prove to another that a statement is true, without revealing any information beyond the validity of the statement. For example, Alice can prove to Bob that she knows the password to a website, without revealing the password itself. ZKPs have many applications in blockchain, such as privacy, identity, compliance and scalability.
Canto’s layer 2 solution is based on optimistic rollups, which are a type of off-chain computation that aggregates transactions into batches and periodically submits them to the main chain. Optimistic rollups rely on fraud proofs, which are mechanisms that allow anyone to challenge an invalid batch and revert it. However, fraud proofs have some drawbacks, such as requiring a long confirmation time, consuming a lot of gas and depending on honest validators.
By adopting ZKPs, Canto hopes to overcome these drawbacks and improve its layer 2 solution. ZKPs can enable a different type of rollup, called zk-rollup, which uses validity proofs instead of fraud proofs. Validity proofs are proofs that verify the correctness of each batch before submitting it to the main chain. This way, no one can submit an invalid batch, and no one needs to challenge it. ZK-rollups have several advantages over optimistic rollups, such as faster finality, lower gas costs and higher security.
Canto has chosen to migrate into a ZK-powered Layer 2 on Ethereum, which means that it will use a specific type of Layer 2 solution that relies on ZKPs for scalability and security. By doing so, Canto will be able to:
Increase its transaction speed and capacity by orders of magnitude.
Reduce its gas fees by up to 99%.
Enhance its user privacy by hiding their identities and activities.
Maintain its compatibility and interoperability with the Ethereum ecosystem.
Canto is currently working on integrating ZKPs into its layer 2 solution and plans to launch a testnet soon. Canto believes that ZKPs are the future of blockchain scalability and wants to be at the forefront of this innovation. By adopting ZKPs, Canto aims to provide its users with a fast, cheap and secure platform for building and running decentralized applications.
Canto believes that this migration will benefit its users and partners, as well as the broader crypto community. Canto hopes that by adopting a ZK-powered Layer 2 on Ethereum, it will set an example for other decentralized applications to follow suit and contribute to the development and adoption of this innovative technology.