and the distribution of digital products.
State of Polyhedra Q4 2024
- ZKJ experienced a token price and market capitalization increase of ~78.65% QoQ. This can be attributed to the launch of the EXPchain testnet and advances in Polyhedra’s product offerings.
- The zkPyTorch framework, currently under development, will enable developers to import ONNX and PyTorch code directly into ZK circuits. This marks a significant advancement in making zkML technology accessible to AI developers without specialized cryptography expertise.
- EXPchain’s testnet went live in December 2024, pushing Polyhedra further into becoming the “everything chain for AI.”
- Four Network Expansion Proposals (NEPs) were passed with overwhelming support in Q4 to expand the zkBridge's integrations onto new blockchains. These networks include Unichain, Solana, Astar Network, and Corn Maizenet.
- Polyhedra announced many new partnerships, including integrations with Coinbase Institutional, WSPN for zk-powered digital payments, and Ondo for RWA interoperability.
Polyhedra Network (ZKJ) is spearheaded by a team of accomplished engineers, developers, and researchers from institutions such as UC Berkeley, Tsinghua University, and Stanford University. Their deep expertise in cryptography, distributed systems, and blockchain technology underpins the development of Polyhedra’s technical solutions, which have consistently pushed the boundaries of what's possible with ZK technology, from cross-chain verification to zkML and privacy-preserving computing. The protocol has raised a total of $75 million, with its most recent $20 million round closing in March 2024, bringing it to a $1 billion post-money valuation. Notable investors include Animoca Brands, Binance Labs, Hashkey Capital, KuCoin Ventures, NGC Ventures, OKX Ventures, and Polychain Capital.
Polyhedra has advanced beyond its initial research and development phase and is live with the EXPchain testnet, designed for scalable, verifiable, and privacy-preserving AI applications. The EXPchain is the culmination of Polyhedra’s technology innovations as it integrates (i) zkBridge, a trustless and efficient cross-chain bridge powered by zk-SNARKs, which has completed tens of millions of cross-chain transactions and generated over 40 million zk proofs on over twenty blockchain integrations, and (ii) Expander, which is used as the proof generation system.
The protocol's product ecosystem also includes zkPyTorch, which is currently under development and will enable developers to import ONNX and PyTorch code directly into ZK circuits without specialized cryptography expertise. Additionally, Proof Cloud is in beta stage, integrating with Google Cloud to allow other projects to use ZK technology in a user-friendly and scalable manner.
Polyhedra’s native token, ZKJ, was launched in March 2024. The token has three primary use cases: (i) paying network fees on EXPchain, AI services, and other products, (ii) staking to secure the network and earn rewards, and (iii) voting on governance proposals.
Website / X (Twitter) / Snapshot / EXPchain / Discord / Telegram
EXPchainThe EXPchain testnet was launched on Dec. 9, 2024, creating an “everything chain for AI.” EXPchain creates a foundation for developing verifiable, responsible, privacy-preserving, and scalable AI applications. It addresses many challenges in the AI industry by leveraging advanced zkML and a Proof of Intelligence (PoI) framework.
EXPchain leverages most of the technology built by the Polyhedra team. At its core, there are three key technologies:
- Expander Proof System: Expander is designed to improve the efficiency and scalability of zk proof systems. This technology is used for maintaining privacy and security in blockchain transactions, including those involving AI computations.
- zkPyTorch: zkPyTorch is a compiler that connects deep learning frameworks with blockchain technology by converting PyTorch code into ZK circuits. This allows AI models to be integrated into blockchain applications, creating opportunities for verifiable machine learning on the blockchain.
- Expanded Proof-of-Stake (ExPoS): ExPoS, the consensus used on the L1, supports a cross-chain staking mechanism that utilizes zkBridge technology. This has the potential to enhance interoperability between different blockchain networks and address challenges within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, which is especially important for AI applications that may need to function across multiple blockchains.
EXPchain Roadmap 
Expander Benchmarks As of December 2024, the Expander Proof System has been able to achieve impressive efficiency and scalability:
- 2.2 seconds/image for VGG-16 on a single-thread CPU.
- 150 seconds/token for Llama-3.1 8B on a single-thread CPU.
- 4 orders of magnitude faster than any number previously reported.
In accordance with Polyhedra’s roadmap, the Expander Proof System is actively being developed to continuously improve and reach the goal of real-time proving.
Financial Analysis Marketcap
The ZKJ token price and market capitalization increased ~78.65% QoQ to ~$2.02 and ~$122.13 million, respectively. The increase in both metrics can be attributed to Polyhedra’s rebrand and the launch of the EXPchain testnet.
Staking
Polyhedra has amassed ~$21.62 million in staking via 2,400+ individuals. This marks a QoQ increase of ~78.63% (in USD terms) from ~$12.10 million in Q3.
Transaction Fees
Since the launch of the EXPchain testnet on Dec. 9, 2024, the average transaction fee has been ~$0.000016, with temporary spikes up to ~$0.00013 on two occasions. EXPchain has produced ~$335.95 in total transaction fees since launch, with ~86.71% occurring across three days.
Ecosystem Analysis Usage
EXPchain saw steady growth in daily transactions, peaking on Dec. 31, 2024, at ~1.02 million transactions in a single day. Overall, average daily transactions were ~558,748 for a total of ~12.85 million transactions in December 2024.
EXPchain added an average of ~2,949 new accounts per day, reaching a total of 67,819 accounts by the end of 2024. The most significant spike in new accounts occurred on Dec. 21, 2024, when 17,509 accounts were created in a single day.
EXPchain had a daily active user rate of ~55.22%, signaling that users are returning to use the network more frequently. While this number is expected to normalize over the next few quarters, it will be a key indicator of EXPchain usage.
The Polyhedra Network currently has 140+ ecosystem participants, and counting.
Notable Q4 partnership announcements:
- Use of Polyhedra as a trusted bridge provider:
- Ondo, an institutional-grade RWA project, is integrating Polyhedra's ZKP technology to bridge its tokenized RWAs across multiple blockchains using LayerZero. Polyhedra acts as a decentralized verifier to ensure secure, trustless cross-chain transfers, enhancing the interoperability and reach of Ondo's assets in the Web3 ecosystem.
- EXPchain x The Graph:
- The Graph and EXPchain will bring verifiable AI and data indexing together to power the future of decentralized infrastructure. This partnership is one of many AI + applications that the EXPchain will enable.
- Partnership with WSPN to tackle digital payments with zk:
- World Stablecoin Payment Network (WSPN) is a digital payment company based in the United Kingdom. The collaboration with Polyhedra aims to integrate zk technology with digital payments. The three areas for cooperation have been identified as (i) interoperability with zkBridge, (ii) zk-powered proof of reserve, and (iii) private transactions.
- Coinbase Institutional Partnership:
- ZKJ tokens are now available through Coinbase's custody services, marking a step in the project's approach to security measures and token management. The partnership involves migrating a portion of ZKJ tokens to Coinbase's custody services, leveraging Coinbase Institutional's security protocols, regulatory compliance, and infrastructure.
- Expander Bootcamp + Hackathon:
- This bootcamp/hackathon covers the general applications of Expander and will expand to five specific tracks for a hackathon. It is a six-week, free program focusing on building ZK infrastructure for the Ethereum Foundation’s proposed BEAM Chain upgrade to the Ethereum network. This initiative will offer $250,000 in grants across the five tracks. The tracks are supported by moderators and lectures from leaders in the space, including leaders from the ETH Foundation, Aptos, 1kx, Stanford University, Google, UIUC, Nexus, and Nebra.
- The five tracks aim to explore cutting-edge advancements in ZKPs, post-quantum security, and cryptographic efficiency. Participants will develop onchain verifiers using Recursive GKR compression to optimize blockchain computations, explore Single Slot Finality with post-quantum signatures to enhance consensus security for BEAM Chain, and build post-quantum private transactions to safeguard user privacy on Ethereum. Teams will also work on zkLogin-based account abstraction for keyless authentication and leverage zkML with the GKR protocol to unlock privacy-preserving machine learning onchain.
Polyhedra Network’s native token, ZKJ, which stands for ‘ZK Joint AI,’ was launched in March 2024 on Ethereum and BNB Chain. ZKJ plays a central role in all of Polyhedra’s zkML technology, helping to form a foundation of trust in AI applications.
The ZKJ token will be distributed over six years, with tokens for community activities, ecosystem incentives, and foundation reserves set to unlock gradually over 36 months, with no initial cliff. Pre-token generation event (TGE) purchasers will have a one-month cliff followed by a 24-month unlock period, while private sale purchasers face a 24-month cliff and a 24-month unlock period. Core contributors are on the longest timeline, with a 24-month cliff and a 48-month unlock period.
In Q4 2024, Polyhedra had three token unlocks for a total of ~46.58 million ZKJ.
Breakdown of the unlocks:
- Core Contributors: Received no ZKJ in Q4.
- Token Purchasers: Received 2.50 million ZKJ (~5.37% of the unlocks) in Q4.
- Foundation Reserves: Received ~10.83 million ZKJ (~23.26% of the unlocks) in Q4.
- Ecosystem and Network Incentives: Received ~25.42 million ZKJ (~54.56% of the unlocks) in Q4.
- Community, airdrop, and other activities: Received ~7.83 million ZKJ (~16.82% of the unlocks) in Q4.
The ZKJ token serves three key functions in Polyhedra’s ecosystem:
- Fees: Developers and applications utilize ZKJ to pay for Polyhedra’s zk proof services and zkBridge cross-chain transaction fees. This includes fees for LayerZero zkBridge Oracle/DVN transactions.ZKJ is also used as the gas token on EXPchain.
- Staking: Users can stake ZKJ to participate in transaction verification and other network activities to earn rewards and ecosystem incentives.
- Governance: Staking ZKJ allows users to vote on network governance proposals.
Polyhedra Network’s governance is housed on Snapshot, where Network Expansion Proposals (NEPs) are discussed and voted on. In Q4, four NEPs were proposed and voted on:
- Integrate Unichain with Polyhedra zkBridge (NEP-7): Passed with ~99.97% of the “Yes” votes, NEP-7 will integrate zkBridge into Unichain to spread the benefits of the Polyhedra Network. Some synergies between Unichain and Polyhedra are the focus on interoperability and community.
- Integrate Astar Network with Polyhedra zkBridge (NEP-8): Passed with ~99.93% of the “Yes” votes, NEP-8 will integrate Astar Network with zkBridge, providing a gateway for enterprises, entertainment, and gaming projects in Japan and globally the benefits of the Polyhedra Network. This integration will also help connect the Astar Network with Soneium and Optimism's Superchain ecosystem.
- Integrate Solana with Polyhedra zkBride (NEP-9): Passed with ~98.95% of the “Yes” votes, NEP-9 will allow Polyhedra’s zkBridge to enhance Solana’s cross-chain interoperability. This integration also strengthens Solana’s zero-knowledge ecosystem, expands developer opportunities, and enables seamless omnichain transactions for AI and meme coins.
- Integrate Corn Maizenet with Polyhedra zkBridge (NEP-10): Passed with ~99.70% of the “Yes” votes, NEP-10 will Integrate Polyhedra zkBridge with Corn Network to enhance cross-chain transactions by bridging Bitcoin’s value with Ethereum’s computational power. This integration strengthens zkBridge’s presence in Bitcoin ecosystems, expands hybrid tokenized Bitcoin (BTCN’s) DeFi use cases, and supports developer innovation through seamless omnichain interoperability.
Polyhedra’s roadmap is broken into four eras: (i) Expansion Era, (ii) Enhancement Era, (iii) Innovation Era, and (iv) Future Era.
Out of the Expansion Era goals (Q1’25), seven of the eight goals are already under development, including:
- Virgo++: Prover enhancements to unlock a faster prover.
- Optimized Verifier: Verifier enhancements to unlock smaller proof sizes.
- zkCuda: Circuit language to unlock log space uniform circuits.
- Onchain App: To be Announced.
- ExPoS: Omni-chain staking (not under development yet).
- zkPyTorch: zkML development framework to unlock basic zkML use cases.
- Proof of Intelligence: Adding ML to the EXPchain.
- Scale Developer Ecosystem: Creating a friendly developer toolchain to expand the ecosystem.
With the successful launch of the EXPchain testnet, the integration of zkBridge, and the development of technologies like zkPyTorch and Expander, Polyhedra is setting new standards for verifiable AI and decentralized applications. Key financial and ecosystem metrics reflect the network’s growing adoption, including a substantial increase in ZKJ’s market capitalization, rising staking participation, and initial growth on EXPchain. Four NEPs were passed in Q4, showing ecosystem participation for network integrations.
Looking ahead, Polyhedra’s roadmap outlines a phased approach toward continued growth, with a focus on expanding its developer ecosystem, enhancing zk infrastructure, and unlocking new AI-powered blockchain use cases.