What Is Validium and Why Is It Better Than STARK zk-Rollups?

Although both STARK zk-Rollups and Validium have their pros and cons, the two solutions offer similar functionality. The main differences are in the scale, which will ultimately determine the use-cases in which they are best suited. For example, zk-Rollups are well-suited for decentralized crypto payments, such as Bitcoin, while Validium is better suited for traditional high-frequency trading and games with lower trust assumptions. Here are some of the reasons why Validium is better than zk-Rollup.

One of the most significant features of validium is that they store transaction data off-chain, reducing the number of Merkle proofs needed to verify transactions. Off-chain storage also reduces costs on validium chains, but it also presents some challenges. For example, a Merkle proof could be broken and users would no longer be able to withdraw their funds from rollup contracts. To overcome these issues, validium solutions hold off-chain data with trusted parties or randomly assigned validators.

Another significant advantage of validium is that it uses zk rollups-style validity proofs. Unlike Ethereum, Validium does not store data on its layer-1 blockchain. The advantage of this is that it enables multiple chains to run simultaneously. This increases capital efficiency and improves security. Additionally, it is not vulnerable to economic attacks, and it can be scaled to over 10,000 TPS per chain. However, despite this advantage, validium chains lack support for smart contracts.