After two years of development and seven testnets, Ethereum-based rollup Taiko has officially launched on the mainnet. This significant milestone was marked by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposing the inaugural block, which featured metadata listing every core contributor to the Taiko project.

Taiko, an innovative Ethereum-based rollup, has gone live on the mainnet following an extensive development period that began in 2022 and included seven rigorous testnets. This launch was ceremoniously initiated by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who proposed the first block on Taiko’s mainnet, embedding the names of all Taiko core contributors within the block’s metadata.

Taiko’s rollup is a sophisticated layer 2 scaling solution that leverages Ethereum block validators for transaction sequencing. This setup ensures Taiko benefits from Ethereum’s inherent security and liveness assurances. Initially, the rollup protocol contracts on Ethereum are managed through a multisig arrangement, with a phased strategy to transition to a model requiring 50% of blocks to utilize zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs to bolster long-term scalability and security.

“We’re super excited to finally launch Taiko on the Ethereum mainnet,” said Daniel Wang, Taiko’s Co-founder and CEO. “It’s been a long time in the making, and we’re beyond thrilled to deliver what we believe is the most secure technology to scale Ethereum.”

Taiko incorporates a type-1 zero-knowledge virtual machine (ZKVM) designed to mimic Ethereum’s architecture, accompanied by a multi-proof proving system. This system enhances security by allowing for the submission and contestation of various types of proofs.

The Taiko token is set to launch a few weeks post-mainnet activation. In an effort to engage and reward its community, Taiko will introduce a points incentive program called Trailblazers, encouraging users to complete tasks and interact with the network. Moreover, Taiko has announced a “genesis airdrop,” distributing 5% of its 1 billion token supply to community members.

Looking forward, Taiko plans to launch a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) later this year, progressively transferring protocol control to its community through a phased approach. This strategy aims to gradually remove initial safeguards, ultimately achieving full community governance.

In its initial two-week period post-launch, Taiko will control block proposing and proving to ensure network stability. After this phase, the network will transition to a decentralized and permissionless model, allowing broader participation in node running, block proposing, and proving. Node running is currently open to the public and considered crucial for the network's integrity.

“Security has always been the number one priority for Taiko,” Wang emphasized. “As with any new software deployment, especially a blockchain, there will be turbulence. That’s why we want to first see the network stable and then open the gates to everyone. That’s for everyone’s benefit.”

Since its inception, Taiko has successfully raised $37 million across two funding rounds, reflecting strong investor confidence in its vision and technology. With the mainnet now live, Taiko is poised to contribute significantly to the scaling of Ethereum, bringing enhanced security and efficiency to the ecosystem.