Key Takeaways
- Matter Labs launched zkSynca Layer 2 smart contracts testnet with Curve as the first “resident dApp.”
- Curve has a total value locked (TVL) of $1.07 billion, at press time.
- Matter Labs also introduced a new programming language called Zinc for writing smart contracts.
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Matter Labs’ Layer 2 solution will enable smart contract capabilities on Ethereum using ZK rollups. Until now, Optimistic was the leading DeFi implementation.
ZK Rollup Gets Ready for DeFi
Curve Finance, a decentralized platform for stablecoin swaps, is the first to experiment with the zkSync testnet. Curve currently supports the exchange of USD stablecoins and wrapped Bitcoin tokens on its platform.
Ethereum’s ZK rollup allows transactions to be batched on a sidechain to reduce the mainchain’s load, thereby providing cheaper and faster transactions. It aims to scale the current Ethereum speed from 10-15 transactions per second (TPS) to 2,000 TPS.
ZK rollups offer greater scalability and finality on transactions than the alternative Optimistic rollup.
Nonetheless, the use of ZK rollup has been limited to simple token transfers and some specialized applications. General-purpose smart contracts, for instance, are still not possible. The zkSync smart contract testnet seeks to solve this problem.
Matter Labs launched the Zinc Virtual Machine (ZVM), enabling smart contracts and EVM wrapping on ZK rollup. The smart contracts on ZVM are written in the Zinc programming language. Zinc is similar to existing smart contract languages for Ethereum – Solidity and Viper.
Matter Labs is keeping up with the pace with Optimism PBC on the technical front. Recently, the Synthetix network joined the Optimistic rollup testnet, with Uniswap and Chainlink in the pipeline.
Moreover, the Layer 2 solution is also used by leading stablecoin provider Tether to batch USDT transactions on Ethereum.
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