Taiko just closed a $37M funding round to accelerate their Ethereum-based zkEVM rollup infrastructure. Led by founder Daniel Wang (Loopring creator), they're building a Type-1 zkEVM that's fully equivalent to Ethereum — no compatibility compromises.
Taiko's architecture is fascinating: they're implementing a "based rollup" design where Ethereum validators directly sequence L2 blocks. This eliminates centralized sequencers entirely. Their zkEVM generates validity proofs for every state transition, ensuring mathematical certainty while maintaining full EVM compatibility. Smart contract security practices remain identical to mainnet Ethereum since there's zero modification to the execution environment.
This matters for censorship resistance. Traditional rollups rely on centralized sequencers that can censor transactions. Taiko's based design means if Ethereum is live, Taiko is uncensorable. DApps get Ethereum-level security with lower fees and faster finality.
Builders can deploy existing Ethereum contracts without any changes — no new languages, tooling, or smart contract security practices to learn. The full Ethereum toolstack works: Hardhat, Foundry, MetaMask, existing audit frameworks. Migration is literally copy-paste.
Early builders should focus on:
- DeFi protocols needing fast finality
- Social applications requiring censorship resistance
- Gaming/NFT projects wanting cheaper transactions
- Cross-chain infrastructure leveraging the based design
Mainnet launch targeting Q2 2024. They're currently running testnets and working with launch partners. The funding will scale the prover network and expand the ecosystem team.
This isn't just another L2 — it's infrastructure for truly decentralized applications that can't be shut down.