原创 | Odaily星球日报（ @OdailyChina )
作者 | Asher ( @Asher_0210 )
Against the backdrop of the rapid evolution of blockchain technology, full-stack services such as Op stack and Arbitrum Nova, as well as the recently emerged modular blockchains such as Celestia, Dymension, and Cosmos, have significantly lowered the threshold for developers to create new blockchains.
In the foreseeable future, the number of application chains will continue to grow, making the cryptocurrency world more prosperous, but this trend also brings a new problem: the further dispersion of crypto asset liquidity. As Vitalik Buterin said many years ago: Interoperability is the future. The role of cross-chain technology in the cryptocurrency world is becoming increasingly important. It effectively links the data islands between chains in a more efficient, cheap and secure way. Therefore, many high-quality cross-chain projects such as ZetaChain, LayerZero, Axelar, and THORChain have emerged.
Among them, ZetaChain, which raised $27 million and focused on full-chain interoperability, attracted the attention of Odaily Planet Daily. So, how does ZetaChain stand out with its unique advantages?
In short, ZetaChain is different from most current Layer 1 projects and has a more ambitious goal. Layer 1 projects usually focus on improving the carrying capacity of the underlying layer, while ZetaChain focuses on how to connect these evolving underlying carrying capacities to prevent them from becoming isolated islands.
Below, Odaily Planet Daily comprehensively explores ZetaChain, the first general blockchain with a financing of up to US$27 million, from the perspectives of project information, token model, main network data, and competitive product comparison .
ZetaChain: The first universal EVM for chain abstraction, a new Layer 1 public chain
基本概况
泽塔链 is a decentralized smart contract platform (Layer 1) that allows people to send information and transfer crypto assets between different blockchains (including non-smart contract chains such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin), solving the problems of cross-chain and multi-chain without any middlemen or additional steps. ZetaChains mission is to build a platform that enables global access, simplicity, and practicality on any blockchain. Through Omnichain smart contracts, developers can build Omni-Dapps covering multiple blockchains, allowing users to perform cross-chain operations on a single platform without having to understand the switching of underlying blockchain technology. In short, ZetaChains goal is to simplify blockchain application development and abstract the concept of chain.
And, with the arrival of ZetaChain 2.0, the team has made major upgrades to the Chain Abstraction Framework (CAF), making ZetaChain the first universal EVM for chain abstraction. These upgrades, proposed and developed by the decentralized ZetaChain community, focus on the Chain Abstraction Framework (CAF). They aim to unlock new potential use cases, such as Universal Proof of Stake and Universal Apps, which are able to manage complex interactions, applications, and assets on external chains on behalf of users.
图片来源： ZetaChain official website
From the launch of the mainnet on February 1 this year to the release of ZetaChain 2.0 on May 14, the ZetaChain team has been constantly exploring, innovating, and iterating products frequently recently, becoming the first universal EVM for chain abstraction, with functions such as universal proof of stake and universal applications. These universal applications can manage applications on external chains on behalf of users and initiate multi-step cross-chain transactions in a single click.
Obtaining high financing in a bear market
According to ROOTDATA data, in August 2023, ZetaChain announced the completion of a $27 million equity financing. Many mainstream institutions participated in this financing, including blockchain.com, Human Capital, VY Capital, Sky9 Capital, Jane Street Capital, Smrti Lab, VistaLabs, CMT Digital, Foundation Capital, Lingfeng Capital, GSR, Kudasai, Krust, etc.
图片来源： ROOTDATA
In the difficult time in the second half of 2023, when social media was filled with the saying that the winter of the crypto world will be long, the ZetaChain team did not stop. While continuing to develop products, it also obtained high-value financing from mainstream institutions, which shows their expectations for the prospects of its products.
Continuous token incentives after the mainnet launch
Regarding ZetaChain’s token economy, according to official information, its native token is ZETA, with an initial total supply of 2,100,000,000 tokens, and a planned inflation rate of approximately 2.5% per year after four years.
For the initial 2,100,000,000 ZETA, the specific distribution ratio is as follows:
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User growth pool: 210,000,000 ZETA, accounting for 10.0% of the total supply . TGE unlocks 4.5%, and then unlocks 0.2% per month in the first five months . The remaining tokens will be unlocked monthly starting 6 months after TGE, and will be unlocked in 36 months;
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Ecosystem Growth Fund: 252,000,000 ZETA, accounting for 12.0% of the total supply . TGE unlocks 1.5%, and the remaining tokens will be unlocked monthly starting 6 months after TGE, and will be unlocked in 42 months;
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Validator Incentive: 210,000,000 ZETA, accounting for 10.0% of the total supply. Released linearly in blocks within 4 years after TGE;
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Liquidity incentive: 115,500,000 ZETA, accounting for 5.50% of the total supply . 3% will be unlocked by TGE , and then unlocked monthly, and the unlocking will be completed in 48 months;
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Treasury: 504,000,000 ZETA, accounting for 24.0% of the total supply . 2% will be unlocked at TGE , and the remaining tokens will be unlocked monthly starting 12 months after TGE, and will be fully unlocked in 42 months;
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Core Contributors: 472,500,000 ZETA, accounting for 22.50% of the total supply . TGE unlocks 0% and locks up for 6 months, then unlocks 1/18 per month for the next 6 months, and then unlocks 1/36 per month thereafter, and the unlocking is complete in 24 months;
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Buyers and Consultants: 336,000,000 ZETA, accounting for 16.00% 总供应量的 . TGE unlocks 0% and locks up for 6 months, then unlocks 1/18 per month for the next 6 months, and then unlocks 1/36 per month thereafter , and is fully unlocked in 24 个月。
值得一提的是 那 10% of the total initial token supply, or 210,000,000 ZETA tokens, has been reserved in the “User Growth Pool” as a community reward, where ZetaChain community members can earn tokens by developing and contributing to the network.
According to the User Growth Pool allocation table, the specific allocation is as follows:
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ZETA Points Earners from ZetaLabs Snapshot: 1.5% of the total initial token supply, 或者 31,500,000 ZETA, which have been allocated to key community members who have consistently contributed to ZetaChain’s growth and development during its testnet phase;
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Participants of the mission activity: 2.5% of the total initial token supply, i.e. 52,500,000 ZETA, including wallet partner activities, social mission activities, etc.
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Mainnet users: 6% of the total initial token supply, 或者 126,000,000 ZETA. The launch of the XP program will include the launch of the mainnet, where users will earn XP based on activities and upgrade to receive token airdrops.
“User Growth Pool” Allocation Table
Regarding token incentives, ZetaChain not only airdrops tokens to early participants of the project, but also reserves 6% of the total initial token supply for continuous incentives after the mainnet launch. Through continuous token incentives, it creates a high degree of stickiness with users (the rationality of its token economic model can also be verified through the impressive data after the mainnet launch below).
泽塔链 1.0: Impressive Statistics after Mainnet Launch
On February 1st of this year, the ZetaChain Mainnet Beta was officially launched. The ZetaChain Mainnet Beta is a fully functional network that connects Bitcoin, Ethereum Mainnet, and BNB Chain. Developers can deploy Omnichain smart contracts on ZetaChains EVM, which use ZRC-20 primitives to connect and coordinate value and data on all connected chains without wrapping or locking tokens.
Just two months after the mainnet Beta release, the ZetaChain network has already ranked among the top five blockchains in terms of total active users.
Image source: DappRadar
ZetaChain: The master of interoperability
ZetaChain 2.0: Deploying apps for every cryptocurrency user
In May of this year, ZetaChain proposed the first universal EVM for cryptocurrency that abstracts the real chain, with functions such as universal proof of stake and universal applications, which can automatically perform complex cross-chain interactions – ZetaChain 2.0.
ZetaChain 2.0 is a set of proposed upgrades that aims to expand the Universal EVM Stack’s current capabilities to:
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ZetaChain’s messaging and asset management capabilities become composable, meaning even more complex multi-step transactions can be abstracted away for end users;
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Universal Apps on ZetaChain can combine assets on many chains on behalf of users, meaning that end users can gain exposure and utilization to many applications on many chains while only interfacing with one application on ZetaChain;
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Universal Proof-of-Stake enables native assets such as BTC, ETH, and BNB to be staked into ZetaChain’s PoS, earning rewards in return for further securing the network;
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Bitcoin compatibility, IBC, and additional chain integrations make Universal Apps accessible to more users and wallets.
Recently, ZetaChain announced the launch of Gateway, a new upgrade that allows users to access applications from any new chain supported by ZetaChain (including Bitcoin), and developers only need to deploy it once. Gateway plays an important role in the ZetaChain 2.0 upgrade. The introduction of Gateway brings a comprehensive innovation to Universal Apps and simplifies complex multi-step operations.
At the same time, in response to the scalability and maintenance problems encountered in peer-to-peer messaging, ZetaChain 2.0 introduces the universal application of the hub-and-spoke model. This model not only expands universal applications, allowing developers to implement the same applications built using peer-to-peer messaging, but also greatly simplifies the network architecture. The specific advantages brought are as follows:
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Better scalability: In a hub-and-spoke system, adding new nodes only requires a single connection to the hub, rather than multiple connections to each node. This linear scalability is critical for building future-proof blockchain interoperability systems;
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Easier maintenance: Upgrades and maintenance tasks are easier to manage, as changes only need to be implemented in a single common contract at the hub, rather than in different contracts across all blockchains;
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Chain abstraction: By routing all communications through a central hub, developers can abstract the complexity of interacting with multiple blockchains. This simplifies the development process and makes it possible to create cross-chain applications that can interact with any connected blockchain without having to manage individual connections and protocols;
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Unified liquidity: The hub-and-spoke model can bring together the liquidity of multiple blockchains, providing a central point where assets from different chains can be pooled and exchanged. This unified liquidity improves the efficiency and effectiveness of cross-chain transactions, reduces fragmentation, and enhances the overall liquidity available to users.
ZetaChain vs other cross-chain protocols
First, ZetaChain’s competitor is LayerZero. However, it is worth noting that LayerZero is not a public chain L1/L2 and does not directly compete with ZetaChain in the field of full-chain smart contracts. It mainly competes with ZetaChain in the cross-chain transfer market.
LayerZeros core technology is its OFT and ONFT standards, which allow token burning and minting on any chain it supports. In contrast, ZetaChain does not directly compete with LayerZero in this regard, as ZetaChains only native value asset is its token ZETA. In addition, LayerZero and ZetaChain adopt completely different technical architectures. LayerZeros design can basically be reduced to 2/2 multi-signature, relying on off-chain components such as Google Cloud and LayerZeros own relayers. This architecture is lightweight, cheap, and easy to scale, but it also brings the risk of relying on centralized entities. In contrast, ZetaChain is more decentralized and supports non-smart contract chains through TSS hosting, a feature that LayerZero does not have.
Therefore, users using LayerZero’s OFT/ONFT standards are always exposed to LayerZero’s risks, while in ZetaChain’s CCMP (cross-chain messaging), users use their native tokens more and are only exposed to ZETA’s risks when sending messages or bridging. Although both ZetaChain and LayerZero involve cross-chain messaging, they have significant differences in their core businesses and technical architectures, and each is deeply engaged in different niche areas.
Secondly, one of ZetaChain’s competitors is Axelar, which is the closest to it in structure. Both are blockchain protocols developed based on Cosmos SDK, and their validators control contracts and accounts on other chains through TSS. However, there are some significant differences in technology and market positioning between Axelar and ZetaChain.
On the one hand, Axelar does not directly support the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), so it cannot provide full-chain smart contract functions similar to ZetaChain. Although Axelar has launched its own virtual machine AVM (Wasm), it has limited user support and application scope, and is not as focused on providing a smart contract experience similar to EVM as ZetaChain, especially in cases like dealing with ZRC20 代币。 In terms of market positioning, Axelar mainly focuses on cross-chain messaging. Its first product of AVM is Interchain Amplifier, a solution that can be deployed once on Axelar and then run seamlessly on multiple chains, emphasizing the convenience and efficiency of cross-chain information transmission. In contrast, although ZetaChain also provides cross-chain information transmission functions, its core goal is to achieve breakthroughs in the field of full-chain smart contracts. Unlike ordinary contracts, ZetaChain can accept contract calls, messages and token transfers from any connected chain. It can also trigger contract calls and perform token transfers on connected chains, so that decentralized applications can be built based on ZetaChain that can run seamlessly on multiple chains, achieving true cross-chain interoperability, covering multiple mainstream chains including Ethereum and Bitcoin.
On the other hand, although Axelar tried to support non-smart contract chains like Bitcoin more than a year ago, it is no longer supported due to low demand. ZetaChain widely supports a variety of chains including Bitcoin, Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible networks, and non-EVM chains. This shows the different strategies of Axelar and ZetaChain in supporting multi-chain interoperability and full-chain market development.
Although Axelar and ZetaChain are both active in the field of cross-chain technology, their differences in technical architecture and market positioning make them target different application scenarios and user groups.
Furthermore, ZetaChain and THORChain are competitors, and both are blockchain protocols with cross-chain exchange capabilities to some extent. ZetaChains architecture is similar to a THORChain with smart contracts. Although THORChain has a significant advantage in native BTC exchange, ZetaChain not only supports native BTC, but also has EVM and smart contract functions, which makes it significantly different and advantageous in technology.
Another difference from THORChain is that ZetaChain does not need to create its own dedicated token for each application. In the THORChain ecosystem, functions such as exchange, savings, lending, and perpetual contracts all rely on their own tokens for operation and incentives. In contrast, ZetaChain is designed to be more flexible, and users can directly operate with native assets on its chain without being constrained by specific tokens.
Although both ZetaChain and THORChain focus on cross-chain exchanges, THORChain aims to be a feature-rich DEX/bridge-specific application chain, while Zetachain has the potential to be home to a large number of applications and more application-layer innovations (not just DeFi). There are significant differences in their technical implementation and ecological design, which also affects their positioning and attractiveness in the market.
Finally, ZetaChain’s competitor may be Chainlink CCIP. CCIP is not much different from other cross-chain messaging platforms, where users send messages on one chain, the messages are forwarded to CCIP, and then CCIP forwards the messages to the destination chain. However, the main difference between Chainlink CCIP and ZetaChain is that it uses off-chain oracles, which leads to a large difference in technical architecture.
Since CCIP is relatively new, its adoption outside of Synthetix and Aave is limited. In terms of competition, CCIP does not overlap much with ZetaChain. CCIPs long-term goal is to become a protocol for banks and other real-world companies to issue assets across chains. The biggest difference from ZetaChain is that CCIP is neither Layer 1 nor supports BTC, so it does not compete in the field of full-chain smart contracts.
This difference makes ZetaChain and Chainlink CCIP have different market positioning and goals in cross-chain information transmission and cross-chain asset issuance.
Recent Developments
The number of registered XP members on the platform exceeded 1 million
At the beginning of July, ZetaChain reviewed the platform’s achievements in June. The most notable thing was that the number of registered XP members on the platform exceeded 1 million. In addition, the total number of partners in June exceeded 260, including new partners in the fields of infrastructure, SocialFi, GameFi, DeFi, and analysis.
At the same time, ZetaChain is now live on Alchemy, and developers can use Alchemy Supernode, Alchemy Subgraphs and Alchemys full set of developer tools to build universal applications. This integration marks an important milestone in ZetaChains efforts to join first-class infrastructure services and suppliers to support the first universal blockchain development experience.
ZetaHub surpasses 1 million users
Supported by over 125 infrastructure providers
In addition to listing on Alchemy, major brands such as Tenderly and Ledger have committed to support ZetaChain, the first universal blockchain. Currently, there are more than 125 infrastructure partners in the ecosystem stack supporting ZetaChains universal EVM, including Keplr Wallet, Leap Wallet, Goldsky, Pyth, Particle Network, Moralis, Mobula, Biconomy, GoldRush (formerly Covalent), SubQuery, BlastAPI, All That Node, BlockPi, Infstones, Blockscout, ZetaScan, etc. The universal EVM simplifies the user experience of cryptocurrency by abstracting chains, assets, and data. Applications based on the Universal EVM (Universal Apps) can be accessed locally or from any connected chain without the user having to switch networks.
ZetaChain now supports new infrastructure providers for general EVM
Launch of universal loyalty and rewards tier
The first round of application submissions for the XP airdrop ended on July 1, and ZetaHub launched a universal loyalty and reward tier program. The new changes focus on improving the transparency, usability, and iteration speed of XP and rewards. In this way, community needs and feedback are better developed, including providing more continuous and diverse rewards. Specifically, there are the following changes:
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XP Status: XP Status is a simple yet critical metric that helps apps allocate benefits and rewards to real and valuable users. Users are ranked into one of four initial status tiers: Silver, Rose Gold, Black, Green, based on their lifetime XP earned. These statuses determine eligibility for certain rewards and will be provided to apps to use when designing their rewards (the ranking system may change periodically based on community feedback and ecosystem needs);
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XP Active Streak: To stay active during the week, users need to reach a minimum XP activity threshold.
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XP Activities Update: The Activities and Featured sections have had a UI refresh to better support the free apps and activities 市场 on ZetaChain, from DeFi and games to social, NFTs, and more coming soon. Additionally, Activities have been refreshed with updated points distribution and transaction minimums.
XP Activity Interface
On July 26, the official announcement of the XP RFP program began to release part of the 10 million ZETA reward pool to support users of the first universal chain. Users can check eligibility through the official link and get the latest progress in the rewards section on the Hub.
ZetaChain: Exploring the full-chain ecosystem and the new era
ZetaChain will not only support connections to smart contract blockchains such as Ethereum, Ethereum L2 rollups, Solana, Terra, and Algorand, but also to non-smart contract blockchains such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin. At the same time, with the introduction of ZetaChain 2.0, this wide range of blockchain support makes ZetaChain very powerful in multi-chain interoperability.
From the perspective of technology, ZetaChain is closely aligned with the current industry development trend. It makes multi-chain interoperability smoother and more reliable by lowering the users operating threshold. At the same time, ZetaChain also focuses on improving the user experience of developers, providing them with rich infrastructure and tools to support them in building and deploying cross-chain applications, thus laying a solid foundation for the development of the entire ecosystem.
Overall, ZetaChain is not just a technological innovation, it is also committed to driving the blockchain industry towards a more open, interoperable and secure direction, providing an efficient and reliable cross-chain solution for global users and developers.
This article is sourced from the internet: Connecting all chains to achieve unified liquidity, user experience and data source, can ZetaChain become a new narrative for L1?
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