Skip to main content

Chain architecture

Learn how we designed Immutable zkEVM for games.

Sections
Introduction to the Immutable zkEVM ChainIntroduction to the Immutable zkEVM Chain

Immutable zkEVM is an Ethereum zk-rollup (L2) built as a fork of Geth, Ethereum's most adopted and mature execution client. Immutable zkEVM is a single sequencer chain with a PoS-based general message passing bridge built on Axelar for cross-chain communication with Ethereum; over time, we will introduce a native bridge secured by zero-knowledge proofs with Polygon Zero.

Gas and congestion​

Immutable zkEVM has adopted EIP-1559 as the congestion mechanism to prevent spam and provide a deterministic gas pricing algorithm. Gas is expected to cost multiple orders of magnitude less than Ethereum. $IMX is used as the native gas token on Immutable zkEVM.

Staking​

Immutable zkEVM will eventually overlay Proof of Stake (PoS) and transition into a PoS-based BFT consensus chain and need a staking token for validator selection and the chain's economic security (and eventually governance). We have adopted a dual staking strategy with $IMX and $MATIC/$POL as the staking tokens. More info is coming soon!

Anchoring to Ethereum​

There are 3 main reasons why we're anchoring to Ethereum:

  1. Security
    • Ethereum's strong security and decentralization model is a key consideration, providing us with the most secure Settlement and Data Availability (DA) layer shared across most of the highest-valued rollups. See L2 Beats dashboard.
  2. Liquidity
    • Ethereum has significant capital and liquidity that will be used to fuel applications built on Immutable zkEVM.
  3. Bridging
    • As Immutable is a multi-chain ecosystem, we must have fast but secure and trustless bridging between each Immutable-supported chain that shares the same Data Availability layer.

Decentralization​

Immutable zkEVM will initially launch with only Immutable as a single sequencer/validator. This is a critical first step in our strategy to allow the ecosystem to start forming while being able to respond quickly to ensure the safety and integrity of our chain. The long-term goal remains to gradually open up the chain.

We'll publish a technical Deep Dive blog soon that goes into much more depth behind Immutable zkEVM's architecture.