Blockchain conferences offer a powerful glimpse into the rapid evolution of the zero-knowledge (ZK) and Layer 2 ecosystems, and ETHDenver stood out as a pivotal moment for innovation and collaboration. At the heart of this year’s event was Taiko, which hosted a dynamic gathering co-organized by leading investors Lightspeed Faction, Hashed, Generative Ventures, and Token Bay Capital. The evening brought together developers, venture capitalists, and ecosystem partners for rich discussions, major announcements, and a shared vision for the future of Ethereum scaling.
The energy was electric, with attendees engaging in deep technical conversations and celebrating upcoming milestones — including sneak peeks at Taiko’s new branding rollout. This moment marked more than just a product update; it symbolized the growing momentum behind a truly decentralized, Ethereum-native scaling solution.
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Taiko’s Journey: Building the Future of Ethereum Scaling
Since its inception in 2022, Taiko has emerged as a trailblazer in blockchain infrastructure. Through six successful testnet phases, the project has engaged over 1.2 million unique wallets, empowered 30,000+ proposers, and enlisted 14,000+ provers — a testament to its robust decentralization model. Today, the Taiko ecosystem supports over 100 live applications and has cultivated a vibrant community of more than 888,000 members on Discord.
At its core, Taiko is committed to building a decentralized, permissionless, and secure Layer 2 (L2) solution for Ethereum. Unlike many other rollups that compromise on Ethereum equivalence, Taiko supports all EVM opcodes, ensuring full compatibility with existing smart contracts and tooling. This approach removes friction for developers and users alike, enabling seamless migration and interaction across layers.
Major Funding Milestone Ahead of Mainnet Launch
In a significant development ahead of its mainnet debut, Taiko announced a successful fundraising round totaling $37 million** across three stages. The latest **$15 million Series A was led by top-tier firms including Lightspeed Faction, Hashed, Generative Ventures, and Token Bay Capital, with participation from Wintermute Ventures, Presto Labs, Flow Traders, Amber Group, OKX Ventures, GSR, and WW Ventures.
This funding underscores strong confidence in Taiko’s technical roadmap and long-term vision for Ethereum scalability. It also provides critical resources to accelerate development, expand the team, and grow ecosystem partnerships.
👉 Explore how institutional backing is fueling the next wave of Ethereum innovation.
Introducing Based Contestable Rollup (BCR): A New Era of Decentralized Sequencing
Taiko is pioneering a novel architecture known as the Based Contestable Rollup (BCR) — a configurable, multi-proof rollup design that introduces a transparent contestation mechanism and leverages based sequencing. Currently being tested on the Katla testnet, BCR is set to launch on Ethereum mainnet in the coming months.
What sets BCR apart is its use of Ethereum L1 block builders for transaction sequencing, eliminating the need for centralized sequencers. This design ensures that Taiko inherits Ethereum’s security and liveness guarantees, making it one of the most trust-minimized L2 solutions available.
By decentralizing sequencing at the protocol level, Taiko addresses one of the biggest criticisms of current rollup models: centralization risk. With BCR, no single entity controls the order of transactions — instead, it's determined by Ethereum’s own decentralized consensus.
What Is Based Sequencing?
Based sequencing refers to the practice of using Ethereum’s base layer (L1) to handle transaction ordering. In traditional rollups, a centralized sequencer decides the order of transactions before batching them to L1. While efficient, this introduces a single point of failure.
In contrast, Taiko’s based sequencing allows anyone to propose blocks directly to Ethereum, with disputes resolved through cryptographic proofs. This ensures censorship resistance, neutrality, and alignment with Ethereum’s decentralized ethos.
Supporting EIP-4844 from Day One
Taiko will be fully compatible with EIP-4844 (proto-danksharding) upon its Ethereum mainnet rollout in March 2025. This critical upgrade introduces blob transactions, which significantly reduce data availability costs for Layer 2 networks.
By supporting EIP-4844 from launch day, Taiko ensures lower fees and higher throughput for users — a crucial step toward mass adoption. As Ethereum continues to evolve, Taiko remains at the forefront of integrating cutting-edge upgrades that enhance performance without sacrificing security.
The Road Beyond BCR: Based Booster Rollup (BBR)
Looking ahead, Taiko plans to introduce the Based Booster Rollup (BBR) — an advanced architecture designed to solve liquidity fragmentation across Layer 2 networks. With BBR, developers will be able to deploy once on Ethereum and scale natively across multiple L2s, creating a unified experience for users and reducing complexity for dApp builders.
This vision aligns with Taiko’s broader goal: creating an interconnected, composable ecosystem where value and logic flow freely across chains — all while remaining anchored to Ethereum’s security.
Why Based Rollups Matter
Taiko’s advocacy for based rollups stems from a fundamental belief: scaling should not come at the cost of decentralization. By relying on Ethereum’s own infrastructure for sequencing and security, based rollups eliminate intermediaries and reduce trust assumptions.
This approach not only strengthens security but also promotes fairness and inclusivity — allowing anyone to participate in block proposal and verification.
Investor Confidence: Voices from the Ecosystem
Leading investors have voiced strong support for Taiko’s mission and technical direction:
“With Ethereum scaling continuing to be the key missing piece in realizing Ethereum's vision of becoming a global settlement layer, we believe that Taiko has taken the right approach in addressing this by developing a uniquely integrated based rollup architecture. This brings us one step closer to a progressively more secure and performant L2 ecosystem.”
— Kim Yongjin, Co-Founder of Presto Labs“We invested in Taiko because its Ethereum-equivalence represents a landmark development for the broader Ethereum ecosystem. Taiko emulates Ethereum both technologically and ideologically, which will drive frictionless scalability.”
— Wintermute Ventures“Scaling Ethereum is one of the most significant and impactful challenges within crypto. Built by an experienced and crypto-native team, Taiko's decentralized Type 1 zk-EVM will unlock new possibilities for innovation within the growing Ethereum ecosystem.”
— GSR“We believe Taiko’s utilization of ZK-Rollups for Ethereum Layer 2 will accelerate the scalability and efficiency of the blockchain space. Their commitment to creating a more accessible and cost-effective blockchain is something we believe will advance the entire decentralized finance ecosystem.”
— Michael Lie, Global Head of Digital Asset Trading at Flow Traders“The growth and development of Taiko has been nothing short of extraordinary. Not only has the team delivered breakthrough advancements in sequencing design, they have also married technical expertise with a welcoming community — bridging the gap between industry veterans and newcomers alike.”
— Adam Haklili, Managing Partner at WW Ventures
These endorsements highlight not just technical confidence but also belief in Taiko’s community-driven culture and long-term sustainability.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What makes Taiko different from other Ethereum Layer 2 solutions?
A: Taiko stands out through its full EVM equivalence, decentralized based sequencing, and support for all EVM opcodes. Unlike many rollups that modify or limit opcode functionality, Taiko ensures complete compatibility with Ethereum — enabling seamless dApp deployment and user experience.
Q: What is based sequencing and why does it matter?
A: Based sequencing uses Ethereum L1 block builders to order transactions instead of relying on a centralized sequencer. This enhances decentralization, censorship resistance, and security by inheriting Ethereum’s consensus properties.
Q: When will Taiko launch on mainnet?
A: Taiko is preparing for mainnet launch in 2025, with its Based Contestable Rollup (BCR) going live following final testnet validation on Katla.
Q: Does Taiko use zero-knowledge proofs?
A: Yes. Taiko is building a decentralized Type 1 zk-EVM that uses ZK-proofs to verify state transitions while maintaining full equivalence with Ethereum’s execution layer.
Q: How can developers get involved with Taiko?
A: Developers can contribute to Taiko’s open-source repositories on GitHub, participate in testnets, join community calls, or apply for open roles via their job board.
Q: Will Taiko support EIP-4844?
A: Absolutely. Taiko will support EIP-4844 (proto-danksharding) from day one of mainnet launch, reducing transaction costs and improving scalability for users.
👉 Learn how you can participate in the next evolution of Ethereum scaling today.