Polygon Co-founder Spins Off New Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machine Project

ZisK emerges as an independent initiative focused on accelerating decentralized technology adoption while maintaining compatibility with multiple programming languages.

Polygon co-founder Jordi Baylina has spun off ZisK, an independent zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkEVM) initiative initially developed within the Polygon ecosystem. The new project aims to support multiple programming languages and accelerate the adoption of decentralized technologies.

ZisK operates as a fully open-source zkEVM stack, with Baylina transitioning his primary focus to the new project while maintaining an advisory role with Polygon. The spinoff organization comprises seven core developers who previously worked on Polygon’s zkEVM prover system, collaborating for at least three years.

Designed with a modular architecture, ZisK supports high-level languages including Rust, enabling broader developer accessibility. The technology represents a significant step forward in addressing scalability constraints on blockchain systems like Ethereum.

Zero-knowledge proofs are considered transformative for blockchain infrastructure. zkEVMs enhance transaction throughput while maintaining privacy through cryptographic techniques, effectively addressing Ethereum’s long-standing scalability and gas cost limitations that have hindered mainstream adoption.

The ZisK announcement coincides with leadership changes at Polygon following the appointment of Sandeep Nailwal as CEO of the Polygon Foundation. Nailwal, Polygon’s longstanding public face, now holds formal executive leadership over the foundation, which oversees both Polygon Labs and the broader Layer-2 ecosystem.

Market Context for Layer-2 Scaling Solutions

Competition in Ethereum’s Layer-2 scaling space continues to intensify as financial institutions increasingly explore blockchain technology. Industry leaders plan to tokenize significant portions of real-world assets through purpose-built Layer-2 infrastructure.

ZisK represents another addition to the growing portfolio of solutions aiming to bridge traditional finance and blockchain technology, potentially enabling more sophisticated financial services on decentralized platforms.