Selected Metric: The total amount bridged to zkSync has been reached $115 million within 10 days of the public mainnet launch in April 2023 when users rushed to farm the airdrop of the expected native token from the Ethereum rollup.
The official zkSync crypto project started in June 2020. Matter Labs, the start-up behind zkSync, has been working on the layer 2 scaling solution and zero-knowledge proofs for at least a year before the official launch.
The creator of zkSync is a largely European team headquartered in Berlin. The startup keeps a low profile, with only its CEO and co-founder Alex Gluchowski and a few other executives representing it publicly.
The project is now known as zkSync Era since Matter Labs announced the rebranding of zkSync 2.0 into zkSync Era in February 2023.
ZkSync is a layer 2 solution for transferring Ether and ERC-20 tokens that uses zk rollups as a scaling technology. Like Optimistic rollups, zk rollups roll trades from the Ethereum mainnet and submit transaction receipts. Simply put, a large number of transactions are merged into one, which is verified and secured by Ethereum.
The Layer 2 protocol positions itself as an Ethereum-based scalability and privacy engine. As the name suggests, it is built on zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup architecture for unlimited scalability. zero-knowledge-proof systems are associated with proactive cryptographic security.
Rollups are used to combine the off-chain transactions into smaller transactions and transfer them to layer 1. Rollups can be divided into two categories: Zero-Knowledge and Optimistic.
A ZK package is the central part of the zkSync ecosystem. Simply put, zero-knowledge rollups or zk rollups is a Layer 2 scalability solution that allows blockchains to validate transactions faster and keep gas costs to a minimum. These rollups outperform Layer 1 blockchains because they merge on- and off-chain processes.
Three primary components of zk rollups are a smart contract, a prover and a set of verifiers. Smart contracts are about interactions between chains. A third-party proof is used to generate cryptographic proof of the validity of the transaction, while verifiers present a group of nodes responsible for confirming such proof and submitting it to the smart contract.
For example, zk rollup solutions recognize that a particular transaction is true without revealing proof of it. In short, zk rollups say “Trust me on this”. This may sound a bit strange, but zero-knowledge proofs are considered one of the best scaling and privacy solutions for the Ethereum ecosystem.
Layer 2 is a type of architecture implementation for scaling on Ethereum. The purpose of Layer 2 is to address the main drawbacks of Ethereum, such as high gas costs and slow transactions. In fact, layer 2 is a separate blockchain that extends Ethereum.
How does layer 2 actually work? A Layer 2 blockchain interacts with Ethereum on a regular basis, submitting bundles of transactions, with the aim of ensuring that it has similar decentralization and security guarantees.
This explanation may sound complicated because it is difficult to define Layer 2 without diving into Layer 1. Layer 1 in this case refers to the Ethereum blockchain itself and Layer 2 refers to the network that runs on Ethereum to improve scalability and overall efficiency.
As explained above, the zkSync era presents a layer 2 protocol that scales Ethereum. Therefore, zkSync believes that hyperscalability is the endgame as it must meet the exponential demand of Web3.
The mission of the team is not only to increase the throughput of Ethereum, but also to fully preserve the fundamental values such as decentralization, self-sovereignty, and freedom while gaining a high degree of scalability.
Regarding zkSync and their values, the team stated that they firmly stand for security, reliable scaling solutions, resiliency, end-user well-being, and community ownership.
There is no zkSync token yet. While zkSync tokens are not currently available, the project launched its Fair Onboarding Alpha in February, while the zkSync Era Mainnet Alpha became open to the public.
It has been noted that the team may have sent tokens to users who started using the zkSync Testnet. It is expected that there will be a token airdrop for early adopters to obtain it.
Many crypto projects decide to give away some of their tokens for free during an event called an airdrop. Airdrops involve sending a small amount of cryptocurrency to participants’ wallets.
It has already been announced by zkSync that they are going to launch their native token. It was originally rumored that an airdrop would occur in the first quarter of 2023. At the time of writing, in April 2023, this has yet to happen.
Meanwhile, users are already trying out the testnet and mainnet to increase their chances of receiving the airdrop.
To improve your suitability for a potential airdrop, look at interacting with the ecosystem and depositing liquidity. A proposed guideline to do this follows.
Please note that these activities are not a guarantee that you will get an airdrop. These are just examples that can improve your chances of qualifying based on experience with other airdrop programs.
Go to the official site and connect your tier 1 Ethereum wallet. Besides being able to start making swaps on the zkSync network, exploring the mainnet can qualify you for the expected airdrop.
In addition to checking the mainnet, you might also consider trying bridging loans on the testnet. The zkSync testnet includes native applications, such as Orbiter Finance.
Using an application known to the testnet can increase your chances of participating in the airdrop. In addition, you can bridge digital resources at low prices.
ZigZag Exchange is a platform where you can trade within the zkSync network. Once you have deposited your money on zkSync you can start trading on this DEX.
The ZigZag platform is powered by zk rollups and offers a plethora of trading pairs. You can trade testnet tokens to increase your chances of getting the airdrop.
To increase your chances of an airdrop, you can visit Mintsquare and hit an NFT on zkSync mainnet. To get started with coins, simply add an image, name your non-fungible token (NFT) and click ‘mint’.