Ethereum scaling solution Polygon and lightweight blockchain protocol Mina have announced a bridge to connect the two technologies.
The integration will help developers build applications on Polygon using Mina’s zk-SNARK-based protocol. The acronym zk-Snarks here stands for “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge, which helps an entity prove that it possesses certain information without revealing its actual content.
For instance, zk-Snarks or “Snapps” can conceal the identity of NFT owners or exchange KYC information with a protocol without exposing sensitive information such as birthdate and passport number. It can also assist social media DApps in verifying users without requiring them to share their personally identifiable data.
Polygon’s latest initiative is another building block in its scheme to achieve scalability through privacy-preserving technologies. The network has already committed to investing $1 billion in zero-knowledge (ZK) solutions.
Last month, Polygon revealed it is acquiring Hermez, a zero-knowledge cryptography-based scaling project, for a cost of $250 million. Under the deal, all components of the Hermez project will be merged into the Polygon ecosystem. Interestingly, the payment for this deal will be made entirely in Polygon’s native currency MATIC.
As of press time, the tokens of both Polygon and Mina networks are trading in the green. MINA, in particular, has responded exceptionally well to the announcement and is up 38.32% in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, Polygon is also by 3.71% and currently changing hands at $1.39.