zkLink Deep Decoding: How to Find Unity in a Multi-Chain World?

Author: Biteye core contributor Viee

Editor: Crush, core contributor of Biteye

* The full text is about 4,500 words and the estimated reading time is 8 minutes

From Layer 1, Layer 2 to Layer 3,BlockchainThe island effect is becoming more and more significant, and multi-chain interconnection has attracted more attention. One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to everything. We don’t know whether there will be L4, L5, and Ln above L3. One of the most pressing issues at present is how to combine the scattered liquidity islands. zkLink has proposed a solution to aggregate multi-chain liquidity around this problem.

This article will focus on the technical principles, current status and development path of zkLink, and provide a comprehensive analysis of zkLink, a multi-chain aggregation layer based on ZK-Rollup technology.

01What is zkLink and what problem does it try to solve?

along withBlockchainThe development of technology, from the continuous emergence of public chains such as Ethereum and Solana on the first layer (L1), to the second layer (L2) Such as the rise of Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync and Starknet.

While meeting the needs of different users, it also brings problems such as liquidity fragmentation and high cross-chain costs. In addition, developers face programming languages and tools on different chains when deploying dApps, which also increases complexity.

Imagine a country made up of islands, with inconvenient transportation and an immature financial system.Blockchain) have their own independent currencies and trading systems.

You want to shop between different islands (such as Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum), but every time you cross the island, you need to exchange currency, pay transaction fees, and worry about losing your money.

This is the current interaction dilemma faced by blockchain users: decentralized liquidity, high transaction costs, andSafety.

How to make cross-chain transactions as convenient andSafety? zkLink gives the answer.

(Source: zkLink official website)

passZero knowledge proof(ZKP) Technology Unification L2 Like L1, zkLink enables multi-chain state synchronization and native asset aggregation.

由同一实体汇总在不同 L1 链和 L2 上发行的Token, such as USDT Ethereum, USDT BSC, etc., will be merged into a single USDT in zkLink Rollups Token.

In other words, this island country has a comprehensive trading center that brings together the currencies of different islands on one platform, eliminating the need to frequently exchange currencies, pay high fees, or worry about assetSafetyThis is the multi-chain liquidity aggregation function achieved by zkLink, which makes it far beyond a "cross-chain bridge".

Based on this, zkLink has created two major products:zkLink Nova and zkLink X

zkLink Nova is the first aggregated L3 zkEVM Rollup network built on Ethereum and Ethereum L2, leveraging the zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVMXiaobai Navigation) Aggregate assets on multiple L2 networks of Ethereum to solve Ethereum’s liquidity and asset dispersion problems.

zkLink X is an aggregated Rollup infrastructure that supports customized multi-chain dApp development, connecting L2 and L1, allowing developers to feel like they are building applications on a single chain, but in fact they can access the liquidity of multiple chains.

Going back to the analogy of blockchain and island, zkLink Nova is like a universal shopping card, allowing you to shop (interact) freely between shopping malls on various islands without having to repeatedly exchange currency.

zkLink X is like a universal toolbox. No matter what type of shopping mall store (dapp) you want to build, you can customize it according to your needs, just like building blocks, and these stores also support currencies from different islands.

In this way, zkLink not only integrates the liquidity scattered on different chains, but also reduces transaction costs andSafetyIt also simplifies the multi-chain deployment of dApps, improves user experience and ensures the safety of dApp developers.Safetysex.

02What solutions does zkLink provide and how does it stand out from the "multi-chain war"?

Multi-chain and cross-chain are already old-fashioned topics, but we need to know that zkLink is not a cross-chain bridge, but a chain that aggregates multi-chain liquidity.

So, how does zkLink achieve multi-chain aggregation?

The zkLink protocol is a multi-chain ZK-Rollup infrastructure consisting of four layers, including the Settlement Layer, Execution Layer, Sequencer Layer, and Data Availability Layer. These layers are independent of each other and support customized application Rollup deployment. Among them, the core value of the zkLink protocol lies mainly in the settlement layer and execution layer.

(zkLink protocol architecture source: zkLink official website)

As the core part, zkLink's settlement layer is similar to an aggregated settlement center that can integrate multiple chains and use synchronization technology to ensure that each transaction can be verified on multiple chains to prevent fraudulent operations.

There are currently two settlement solutions: zkLink Nexus and zkLink Origin, each targeting different network integration needs.

zkLink Nexus: Connects Ethereum and its L2 network, inheriting Ethereum’s security.

zkLink Origin: can connect to other L1 public chains (such as Solana) and Ethereum to provide wider integration.

Traditional cross-chain vs multi-chain aggregation

Transactions between different blockchains will increase costs and complicate the experience. Both "traditional cross-chain" and "multi-chain aggregation" are solutions to this problem. Let's take an example. Think about exchanging tokenA on chainA for tokenB on chainB through DEX. What is the most primitive way?

First, you need to installwallet并购买 chainB 的 Gas 代币；

Next, the user needs to trade tokenA for a stablecoin or other intermediate token that can be bridged to chainB;

Finally, the user needs to purchase tokenB on the local DEX.

Compared with cross-chain transactions, it is obviously more complicated and has higher friction, so the emergence of cross-chain bridges has improved this experience to a certain extent.

However, the cost of cross-chain token transactions remains high, and it is still difficult for users to conduct seamless and cheap token interactions between different chains.

In addition, traditional cross-chain solutions usually have a high degree of centralization and are vulnerable to hacker attacks, which leads to the loss of user funds.stealrisks of.

Different from traditional cross-chain solutions, zkLink provides a more secure multi-chain settlement solution, namely Nexus and Origin mentioned above. Both solutions utilizeZero knowledge proofTechnology (ZKPs).

zkLink 创造性地将零知识证明应用于多链互操作，采用去中心化的分权设计，无需第三方来保证资产和交易的安全，同时确保了交易和状态转换的安全性和一致性，减小了资产托管的风险，大大提升了安全性和效率。

From Layer 2 to Aggregate Layer 3

In addition to multi-chain aggregation, another highlight of zkLink is that it has built a third layer, zkLink Nova, which combines the liquidity islands of Ethereum L2.

Why build L3 to unify the liquidity of the L2 ecosystem?

We all know that the rise of the L2 craze added a layer of "highway" to Ethereum, making transactions faster and cheaper, but at the same time created a non-interoperable and fragmented blockchain landscape in which liquidity was trapped on isolated chains.

The native assets on different L2s of Ethereum (such as ARB, OP, MANTA, etc.) cannot be traded interoperably, transfers are often time-consuming and costly, and the dispersion of different assets on various L2 networks leads to a waste of liquidity.

The increasing number of L2s, side chains, and decentralized applications has caused liquidity fragmentation, which runs counter to the goal of making Ethereum easy to use.

This is the price Ethereum has to pay for developing L2, which disperses liquidity across dozens of blockchains and urgently needs to improve interoperability and efficiency through more advanced solutions.

Compared to most L3s that are designed to meet specific application needs and deployed on a single L2 (such as Starknet or Arbitrum), zkLink Nova is a general-purpose L3 aggregation network built on top of Ethereum and multiple L2 networks, with Ethereum and its L2 jointly acting as the settlement layer.

Therefore, zkLink builds L3 zkLink Nova not only with the goal of making each layer cheaper than the previous one, but also with the vision of "one Nova to travel the world".

(Source: zkLink official website)

Simply put, ETH deposited from different L2s will be automatically merged into the same ETH on Nova.

The same ERC-20 tokens bridged from different networks, such as USDC.Ethereum, USDC.Arbitrum and other source tokens, can be merged into the same USDC on Nova. The merged USDC has unified liquidity when used on Nova, thereby improving scalability and optimizing user experience.

zkLink vs other aggregation solutions

Many L2s are actually aware of the problem of liquidity fragmentation and are trying to address it. For example, OP's Superchain, Polygon's AggLayer, and zkSync's Hyperbridge unify liquidity by providing a unified bridge or shared sorter.

But they only work for their independent sub-ecosystems and specific technology stacks. In this case, having multiple different technology stacks could exacerbate liquidity fragmentation and cross-chain interoperability issues and lead to a more fragmented Ethereum ecosystem.

In contrast, any Layer 2 asset connected by zkLink Nova can be bridged to the Layer 3 network for fast and interoperable transactions. Although it sacrifices the atomic interoperability of cross-aggregation transactions, it provides the broadest liquidity that can aggregate the entire Ethereum ecosystem.

(zkLink Nova protocol architecture source: zkLink official website)

03From now to the future, zkLink and the new cross-chain era

Development Status

Since the launch of the mainnet in March 2024, the zkLink Nova ecosystem has achieved tremendous development. As of early May, it has covered more than 90 project partner projects (this chart was officially released at the end of March and the data has not been synchronized yet) involving DeFi, tools, social, games and NFTs.

On March 14, zkLink Nova launched the first season of the "Aggregation Parade" reward event. The event will last for one month. Tokens including ETH, L2 native tokens, stablecoins, LST and LRT will have the opportunity to obtain Nova points, encouraging users to deposit their assets into the L3 Nova mainnet.

Simply put, users can obtain Nova points through cross-chain, staking and inviting new users, which can be redeemed for ZKL tokens in the future.

Currently, the second season of the "Aggregation Parade" reward event is in progress, and Nova points can be increased by interacting with dApps that cooperate with zkLink Nova.

Event Details

(zkLink ecosystem source: zkLink official website)

From the above activities, it can be seen that the team has made great efforts to promote the user growth of the zkLink Nova ecosystem, and the data performance is also very impressive.

The currently running Alpha mainnet has used zkLink technology to conduct more than 2 million transactions and generated 500,000 unique addresses.

According to DefiLlama, as of May 22, zkLink Nova TVL exceeded US$1 billion, with an increase of 156% in the past month, making it the Layer 3 network with the highest TVL.

(Source of zkLink Nova’s total locked amount: zkLink Nova official website)

Financing

In terms of financing, zkLink went public through CoinList in January this year. CommunityThe sale raised $4.68 million. Last May, zkLink completed a $10 million strategic financing round, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, SIG, BigBrain Holdings and others.

To date, zkLink has raised a total of $23.18 million in funding and will further develop the Nova protocol.

zkLink's investors are more strategic partners. They not only provide funds and manpower, but also invest more resources to deepen cooperation with zkLink.

(zkLink investors source: zkLink official website)

Future Outlook

Currently, the zkLink Nova mainnet is online, and the team is upgrading the light node oracle network ZK Oracle that verifies cross-chain status as part of improving the zkLink X protocol.

In the future, zkLink will also undergo a series of important upgrades, including support for external data availability (DA) solutions, decentralized proof auction markets, etc.

Currently, zkLink's sorting service is centrally managed, and the team plans to integrate decentralized solutions such as Espresso, Astria, and Fairblock in the future to reduce centralization risks. In addition, the ZKL token is about to be launched, and the team is preparing for TGE.

It can be seen that zkLink continues to improve on the road to bringing unprecedented liquidity aggregation to Ethereum and its L2.

If achieving “seamless on-chain interaction” was just a pipe dream, then perhaps zkLink is turning dreams into reality.

(zkLink roadmap source: zkLink official website)

04Summarize

Only time will tell which layer will be the final winner in the battle between L1, L2 and L3. At the same time, the market will also tell us that L1 and L2 will always have their necessity to exist, and this is not a zero-sum game.

The future is destined to be an era of multi-chain coexistence, and zkLink will become a key hub, connecting the various components and systems of the L1 and L2 ecosystems.

It is conceivable that zkLink is leading a new era of more interconnected multi-chain, bringing more new opportunities.

The article comes from the Internet:zkLink Deep Decoding: How to Find Unity in a Multi-Chain World?

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