Polygon co-founder, Mihailo Bjelic, is raising doubts about the need for Verkle Trees on Ethereum, stating that there are alternative solutions that can address the same issues.

Mihailo Bjelic and Vitalik Buterin, co-founders of Polygon and Ethereum, respectively, have engaged in a debate about the suitability of implementing Verkle Trees on Ethereum, with Bjelic expressing his skepticism.

The discussion took place on the X app, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding Ethereum's data storage for optimal functionality.

Bjelic initiated the conversation by questioning whether switching Ethereum to Verkle Trees is the best course of action. He argued that the zk-fication of the existing Ethereum network is highly probable in the near future.

Buterin responded by pointing out that "ZK-ifying keccak merkle patricia trees with worst case 300 MB witness sizes is a non-starter." He explained that Verkle Trees were designed to be compatible with zk-friendly technology, unlike the Merkle tree currently used by Ethereum.

The current data structure used by the Ethereum blockchain network is based on Merkle Patricia trees, which have limitations. Therefore, there are plans to replace it with Verkle Trees, which have shorter proofs and higher bandwidth.

Bjelic stated that the Polygon zkEVM has the capacity to meet the 300MB benchmark outlined by Buterin, which can be achieved in a total block time of 12 seconds. However, this would require approximately 10 server-class CPUs.

The Polygon zkEVM has been pushing for an upgrade, following its move earlier this year to transform into a Type 2 ZK-EVM, bringing it closer to the Ethereum mainnet.

The upgrade would enable developers to deploy their codes on Polygon zk-EVM exactly as it is on Ethereum, introducing a significant shift for developers building on the smart contract protocol.

The Etrog Upgrade, which has a 10-day timelock on the mainnet, went live in February, bringing Polygon zkEVM closer to becoming a Type 2 ZK-EVM.

However, there are still uncertainties about the upgradability to a Type 2 ZK-EVM, especially since the Polygon's zkEVM went down for nearly 10 hours almost a month after the Etrog Upgrade went live. The issue on the Polygon zkEVM, which is in mainnet beta, has since been resolved.