Scroll vs Polygon zkEVM: Throughput

Ethereum-level security with high capacity: Scroll's zkEVM is bytecode-compatible, minimizing dev friction for complex dApps like Aave or Uniswap V3 forks. Its prover architecture is designed for horizontal scaling, targeting 10,000+ TPS long-term. This matters for protocols needing maximal composability without sacrificing security.

~15-30 minute finality to Ethereum L1, leveraging zk-proof validity. This is faster than optimistic rollups (7 days) and provides stronger capital efficiency for cross-chain DeFi. Crucial for protocols like lending markets (e.g., lending protocols) where fund withdrawal speed impacts user experience and TVL.

Battle-tested in production with major dApps like QuickSwap and Aave Gotchi. Currently offers lower transaction fees than Scroll (often sub-$0.01). Its Polygon CDK provides a clear path for app-chain deployment. This matters for high-volume, cost-sensitive applications like gaming or micro-transactions.

Deep integration with Polygon's ecosystem: Full support for Hardhat, Foundry, and The Graph. Faster prover times in practice due to optimized circuits, leading to more consistent throughput. This matters for teams prioritizing rapid iteration, existing tool familiarity, and immediate mainnet deployment.

Bytecode-level compatibility: Scroll's zkEVM executes Ethereum bytecode directly, minimizing gas overhead for complex operations. This results in more predictable and often lower effective gas costs for dApps with heavy logic (e.g., DeFi aggregators, on-chain games).

Faster proof generation: Leverages Polygon's proprietary Plonky2 proving system, which is optimized for speed on consumer hardware. This enables higher theoretical TPS ceilings and faster finality for batches, crucial for high-frequency trading or social apps.

Current sequencing reliance: The Scroll mainnet currently uses a single sequencer operated by the foundation. This creates a potential single point of failure and a hard cap on pre-confirmation speed, a critical weakness for latency-sensitive applications like perpetual DEXs.

Inefficient certain operations: As a language-level zkEVM, some EVM opcodes (e.g., KECCAK256, CALL) require more constraints to prove, leading to sporadically higher gas costs for specific contract patterns. This can impact batch efficiency and user costs for data-heavy dApps.

Higher TPS ceiling: Leverages Polygon's AggLayer for horizontal scaling across multiple ZK chains, targeting 1000+ TPS. This matters for mass-market dApps like gaming or global payments that require massive concurrent user capacity.

Faster proof generation: Uses the Plonky2 proving system, optimized for speed on consumer hardware. This results in lower operational costs for sequencers and faster finality for users, critical for high-frequency DeFi arbitrage and NFT minting events.

Stable performance under load: Scroll's EVM-equivalent architecture and conservative, battle-tested zkEVM design prioritize reliability over peak specs. This matters for institutional DeFi protocols (e.g., lending/borrowing on Aave, Maker) where predictable gas costs and uptime are non-negotiable.

Lower L1 posting costs: Scroll batches transaction data to Ethereum calldata more efficiently, reducing the base cost per transaction. This directly translates to lower fees for end-users during normal operations, a key advantage for high-volume, low-value transactions like social or micro-payments.