$ZKJ No.1 "Introducing Polyhedra Network" (2023/3/3)

Reflecting back to this first article "Introducing Polyhedra Network" (March 3, 2023), it is like looking back at a national constitutional charter—without overt power, yet secretly plotting between the lines.
After reading this article, I have only one comment to start with:
Polyhedra is not "transforming" because of the ZK hype; it was always defined as a "ZK infrastructure team" from the beginning—orthodox from the start, not a latecomer.
Below, I will divide this foundational article into six major sections to elaborate on its core intentions, technical layout, strategic blueprint, and the true versus false aspects at that time.
1. The Origin of the Main Idea: What is the "root problem" Polyhedra was born to solve?
The opening clearly states three issues the team aims to address:
"Interoperability, Scalability, Privacy"
This is not just a slogan but based on this judgment:
"Web3 is not an isolated island of single chains and protocols but a complex heterogeneous system that must connect Web2, Web3, multi-chains, and the Metaverse."
And ZK is their chosen breakthrough sword.
In other words, they are not building a platform for a specific asset issuance but focusing on the fundamental protocol issues of cross-system communication + computational verification.
2. The First Products: A blueprint of a "ZK Three-Piece Suite" project
1. zkBridge: Trustless cross-chain communication
Replacing traditional cross-chain bridges' "trust assumptions" with zero-knowledge proofs
Problems solved:
Most cross-chain bridges rely on signature groups / relayers, with high trust thresholds and have lost over $1.8 billion+
How do they solve it?
Compile lightweight node protocols into zkSNARKs
Verify the correctness of lightweight client execution on the receiving chain (efficient + secure)
This is an extremely challenging engineering direction, requiring high technical skill, generally avoided by most projects.
2. zkDID: Privacy-preserving identity verification mechanism
Proposes an "identity bridge" connecting Web3 and the internet
Based on SBT (Soulbound Tokens) + ZKP
Enables:
Zero-exposure identity verification
Fine-grained privacy disclosure (selective presentation)
Multi-chain, multi-platform compatibility (compliant with W3C)
Preceding mainstream DID frameworks worldwide, they proposed a ZK disclosure mechanism, revealing their worldview of building everything around ZK.
3. paraPlonk / deVirgo: High-performance proof systems
These are the most easily overlooked heavyweights but form the physical foundation of all subsequent systems.
deVirgo:
Based on Virgo system, for distributed proof generation
Introduces distributed sumcheck and commitment
Achieves 100x acceleration
paraPlonk:
Upgrade of Plonk structure → more suitable for parallel distributed systems
Compatible with Marlin / Gemini
Extremely low communication overhead + structural migratability
This indicates they understood early on: ZK is not just about "being able to prove" but also about "being able to run efficiently."
3. About the team: Academic lineup + engineering focus
Members come from UC Berkeley, Tsinghua, Stanford, specializing in cryptography, system architecture, distributed computing.
Unlike many "blockchain projects" led by operations/finance personnel, Polyhedra is clearly a hardcore R&D engineering organization emerging from a lab.
Note this point: they did not start with "token issuance plans" or "airdrop cycles," but focused solely on ZK architecture itself.
4. About the vision: They have aimed from day one to build a "cross Web2/Web3 foundational protocol layer"
The article explicitly states:
"We believe that every network should be interconnected in Web2, Web3, and the Metaverse."
This is not just a product goal but an ambition for protocol status.
And their cards are clear:
ZK → providing trusted, neutral computation and data verification layers
zkBridge → enabling multi-chain state interoperability
zkDID → establishing identity verification standards
paraPlonk/deVirgo → providing efficient ZK circuit execution foundations
Overall, they are building a "trusted communication + computational collaboration operating system kernel."
5. Personal reflection: This article is like the "Genesis inscription" of all subsequent strategies
From this 2023 article to the Alpha releases in late 2025, there is a very clear evolutionary path.
In the Genesis period of Q1 2023, the project laid its infrastructure foundation, launching zkBridge, zkDID, and paraPlonk architectures, creating the core framework for future development.
By late 2025: Ocash officially launched its mainnet, EGG's minimal viable product (MVP) was released, and the i-D identity solution entered testing, with the product system taking shape.
"The question of when they started to have ambitions," I think:
They never changed; from day one, they only built the "roots," never seeking to flourish with branches and leaves.
6. Retrospective strategy, now bearing fruit
Reading the "first article" again, it becomes clear that this team was not born from a transformation but was always positioned as:
Infrastructure builder
Long-distance ZK technology runner
Cross-domain architect (chains, AI, identity, connectivity)
Not the common "hotword aggregator" or "secondary token speculator."
In 2025, ZKJ experienced a crash, and rereading the first article now has even deeper significance. When detached from financial market speculation and re-examined through the lens of technological history, perhaps what I am doing is witnessing this moment.
Therefore, I plan to create a special series, revisiting articles on the official website.$ZKJ