Arbitrum, one of Ethereum’s busiest scaling layers and probably a perfect example of what a Layer-2 solution should be, has rolled out a big change that Matt Hamilton, who previously worked on engineering at both Ripple and Arbitrum, described as a "huge deal."
Until now, Arbitrum has been defined by optimistic rollups — efficient and relatively cheap, but with the trade-off of slow withdrawals that can stretch to a week. The new upgrade introduces modular zero-knowledge (ZK) proving, letting applications call on cryptographic proofs when faster finality is required.
That means users who just want low-cost transactions can stick to optimism, while those moving assets across chains or pulling funds out can opt into ZK for confirmation in minutes.
Ricardo Gordon, community admin at the Arbitrum Foundation, explained that this hybrid setup unlocks faster exits, smoother bridging and more flexibility for developers who no longer need to choose a single rollup model.
Hamilton is not new to these debates. At Ripple, he was known for translating XRP Ledger into something developers could actually work with — running grant programs, building tutorials and acting as the bridge between engineers and enterprise clients.
Later, inside Arbitrum’s own team, he moved into scaling Ethereum directly, experimenting with tools like Stylus and Orbit that are now part of the network’s developer offering. That dual track record explains why his words carry weight here.
Arbitrum is new Ethereum?
Instead of betting the platform’s future on one architecture, Arbitrum can adjust to different use cases: Optimistic rollups for throughput, ZK rollups for security and speed, or a combination of both.
In practice, that makes the network more versatile — and positions it to evolve with Ethereum’s changing demands rather than being boxed into a single design of "Layer 2 for finances."
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team