Over the last weekend, Polygon’s zkEVM, which is currently in beta, went down for nearly 10 hours. The Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta encountered a sequencer problem due to an L1 reorg. However, this issue was exclusive to Polygon zkEVM and didn’t affect Polygon PoS or CDK.

Polygon zkEVM Resumes Operation After Emergency Fix

The Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta has resumed operations following an emergency fix implemented by the Emergency Council for Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta. The emergency state was activated to facilitate the necessary adjustments required by the Polygon zkEVM Core Team to address system issues affecting L1 settlement.

With the completion of the upgrade, the emergency state has been deactivated. However, any future updates to the system will be subject to a 10-day timelock before implementation.

In a statement, the Polygon team announced plans to provide a detailed post-mortem analysis on the @0xPolygonFdn forum early next week. This initiative aims to offer transparency and insight into the recent events surrounding the Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta, ensuring stakeholders are informed about the platform’s operational status and future developments.

Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta has resumed operations.

The Emergency Council for Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta activated the emergency state to allow the Polygon zkEVM Core Team to apply a necessary fix to the system, allowing L1 settlement of Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta to resume. Upon…

— Polygon | Aggregated (@0xPolygon) March 25, 2024

Debate Towards Layer 2 Centralization Grows

Polygon developer Jarrod Watts discussed the recent incident involving Polygon zkEVM over the weekend, highlighting its significance in the conversation about Layer 2 (L2) upgradeability.

The sequence of events involved an issue with zkEVM halting block production, prompting the Security Council to activate the emergency state to expedite upgrades. The team addressed the issue through an upgrade, after which the emergency state was deactivated, allowing the chain to resume normal operations.

Watts emphasized the importance of L2 upgradeability, noting that without it, L2s would be unable to support future improvements on L1, fix bugs, or patch vulnerabilities. He acknowledged that while L2 upgradeability isn’t perfect and carries risks, it’s crucial for ongoing development and innovation.

Additionally, Watts pointed out that the potential for malicious upgrades, though rare, remains a concern in the current state of L2 networks. He acknowledged the validity of arguments suggesting that L2s are more centralized compared to some L1 networks.

What happened with Polygon zkEVM over the weekend is a great discussion point for Layer 2 upgradeability.

> There is an issue
> zkEVM stops producing blocks
> Security council sets emergency state to true (to bypass 10d wait period for upgrades)
> Team fixes the issue via…

— Jarrod Watts (@jarrodWattsDev) March 25, 2024