When it comes to mass adoption, low throughput is considered the most serious bottleneck. However, there is a solution that may help Ethereum reach the TPS of Visa.

With the Istanbul Hard Fork behind us, numerous innovations are already being implemented into the post-hard fork Ethereum (ETH) network. One of these innovations may rapidly facilitate the throughput of Ethereum and increase the quantity of transactions per second (TPS) sixtyfold.

Zero Knowledge for Maximum Speed

Iden3, a startup that is partnering with the Ethereum Foundation, published a report on how the ZK-Rollup feature can increase the speed of the Ethereum network.

ZK-Rollup (ZK refers to Zero Knowledge) is a feature that allows one to unload the main blockchain by transferring some of the data about the transaction off-chain (out of smart contracts of the initial Ethereum). This will result in a limited load on the main network and will start to operate much faster.

This technology is endorsed by the "Father of Ethereum" Vitalik Buterin as his favorite scalability solution. In accordance with Iden3, the ZK-Rollup feature will allow more transactions to be validated in every Ethereum block. Therefore, its capacity may skyrocket.

Image by: https://iden3.io/post/istanbul-zkrollup-ethereum-throughput-limits-analysis

This upgrade is now possible because of two Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) that were included with the Istanbul Hard Fork - EIP-1108 and EIP-2028. Both of these EIPs will reconsider the gas pricing calculation, making the introduction of ZK-Rollup much cheaper.

Will Ethereum Leave Visa in the Dust?

To put this in context, 2000 TPS is what the Visa network currently averages. Ethereum currently supports around 30 TPS, but with the implementation of ZK-Rollup, this figure may surge 6300%. Therefore, the breakthrough doesn't seem impossible at all.

Furthermore, the calculations by Iden3 are a rough estimation. The true throughput of blockchain always depends on the performance of mining gear used by validators as well as based on the demand for its native token.

Should we get ready for the Visa-like speed of Ethereum? Let's discuss it on Twitter!