Competition in Ethereum scaling solutions is intensifying. Polygon, an Ethereum Layer 2 developer, has announced the launch of the alpha version of its latest ZK-rollup test network named Miden. According to a company announcement on May 6, the Polygon Miden Alpha Testnet is now available to developers to begin testing. Miden is a ZK-rollup aimed at enhancing the capabilities of the Ethereum blockchain.

Polygon's system utilizes a cryptographic method that allows data to be verified or "proven" without disclosing the data's details to the rest of the network. Miden features client-side verification, which enables users to "locally generate proofs of their state transitions without needing to reveal the state to the network," reducing network load and improving privacy and scalability.

The Miden network offers additional features such as private accounts, which allow the use of private tokens and transactions while only storing the hash of the account in the blockchain. It also employs parallel transaction processing, which allows transactions to be processed simultaneously, achieving significantly higher throughput compared to the main Ethereum network and reducing the bloat of the blockchain node's state.

Other planned key features include customizable smart contracts and customizable node scripts, giving users the ability to create their own note scripts using the Miden VM virtual machine and programming languages like Rust. A developer test network is scheduled for September, though the launch dates for the main network have not been specified yet.

Miden is already competing in the market with second-tier scaling solutions such as the StarkWare network and the integrated technology stack StarkNet (STRK), as well as other alternatives including zkSync Era from Matter Labs. Meanwhile, Polygon is developing zkEVM, an equivalent to the Ethereum virtual machine, which ensures seamless operation for most existing smart contracts, tools, and wallets.

Despite the significance of the testnet launch, the blockchain's native token, Polygon (MATIC), has not shown significant response to this news. In the last month, it has dropped in price by 23% and was trading at $0.69 at the time of writing.