zKSync is a trustless protocol that capitalizes on zero-knowledge proofs and on-chain data availability to enable large-scale, secure and cheaper payments on Ethereum.
The Project has been in development since 2019 by Matter Labs and has since raised USD $458M from top crypto VCs and angel investors. They also have more than half a million community members across discord, twitter, and other social media platforms, that actively participate on ZkSync to conduct rigorous stress testing.
A zkProof is a method of proving the validity of a statement without revealing the statement itself.
It makes it possible for one party to prove a claim (prover) to another party (verifier) that a statement is true without having to reveal any information.
This is important as it represents a breakthrough in cryptography, delivering on the promise to improve both security and privacy when individuals share sensitive information.
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Does zkSync Have an Edge over Optimstic Rollups?
In comparison with other L2 scaling solutions, it can be argued that zkSync has an edge over others in terms of security and functionality.
Unlike Optimistic Rollups, zkSync does not require a minimum 1 week wait period for users to bridge and withdraw any assets.
The zkSync Era security model is based on zkProofs, providing assurance of the same level of security as Ethereum, it also supports EVM compatibility.
Users input and process a large amount of data without having to pay for call data, they only have to pay for zkProofs which are significantly cheaper.
ZK rollups lower transaction costs as data availability costs are shared across multiple transactions. For Optimistic Rollups, however, users have to pay for data availability whenever an oracle update is made. (how often do oracle updates occur? What are the costs over a set amt of time?)
While Optimistic Rollups cannot offer off-chain data availability without compromising on security, zkSync Era has an extension called zkPorter that can do so.
With zkPorter, scaling can be achieved with data availability moved off-chain. This form of scaling cannot be attained by optimistic rollups as malicious actors can get away easily with looting all the funds in the rollups.
In essence, zkSync provides for cheaper and faster transactions, cross EVM composability and instantaneous withdrawals to L1.
A Possible zkSync Airdrop?
Crypto Twitter’s interest in airdrop hunting was reignited last week, when Arbitrum distributed over $1 billion worth of tokens to early users and validators.
Since then, over $871M has been bridged to the ZkSync Era. While Matter Labs, the parent company of ZkSync, has yet to announce any plans for a native token, speculation is rife over a potentially hefty airdrop.
Based on Dune Analytics, more than 130,000 unique wallets and over 25,000 ETH were bridged over from Ethereum to zkSync Era.
How to Maximize Your Chances of Getting an Airdrop
While zkSync Mainnet is now live and users can now bridge assets using this official bridge or another bridge like Orbiter, the founders of zkSync have highlighted that decentralization will only be complete in close to a years’ time.
In order to qualify for an airdrop when one is announced, Twitter users have recommended some ways to ensure you don’t miss out.
A quick overview of the current dApps that are live on the zkSync Era Mainnet provides further insights into the ecosystem.
Through interacting with these dApps, it can better equip you with securing any potential airdrops in future.
Bridging to zkSync via Orbiter Finance
Orbiter Finance is a third-party bridge that supports cross-chain transfers between zkSync Lite and Era, Polygon, Arbitrium, Loopring and many others. Orbiter Finance charges a fee when users perform cross-chain transactions.
DeFi with SyncSwap, Mute.io and SpaceFi
Both SyncSwap and Mute.io are one of the first few DEX platforms on zkSync Era that enable users to swap and provide liquidity with multiple assets such as ETH, USDC and in Mute.io’s case, their own MUTE token.
SyncSwap is primarily focused on the USDC/ETH pool while Mute.io has an Amplifier function to restake LP tokens for a higher APY and an innovative bonding feature adapted from the Olympus DAO mechanism.
SpaceFi is a cross-chain platform that integrates the Evmos and zkSync networks, users can swap ETH, USDC and other assets as well as provide liquidity.
NFT Marketplace Mint Square
The Mint Square NFT marketplace is an NFT platform integrated with zkSync Era and StarkNet, aiming to attract and onboard the next 100 million users to mint and trade NFT assets in a cheap and secure manner.
Conclusion
Matter Labs has an ambitious and commendable objective of making mass adoption of blockchain and crypto a reality.
They are focused on developing zkSync to not only handle a large number of transactions but also meet the demands of a wide spectrum of users.
While this technology is still in its infancy stages, the competent team of experienced developers, researchers and entrepreneurs has positioned zkSync to become a significant player in this space.
Beyond the prospect of earning a handsome sum from a potential airdrop, zkSync’s underlying technology is truly revolutionary.
Also Read: Could Fantom Be The Most Undervalued Layer 1?
[Editor’s Note: This article does not represent financial advice. Please do your research before investing.]
Featured Image Credit: ChainDebrief
Written by: Clarence Lee
Edited by: Yusoff Kim
