The Cronos blockchain community is pushing into Ethereum's Layer-2 scaling world with the alpha mainnet launch of Cronos zkEVM.
Notably, for being the only second zero-knowledge proofs-based L2 chain after ZKsync Era, the Cronos zkEVM chain is launching after a hugely successful testnet phase that began in December. During that phase, more than three million unique wallets were used to process millions of transactions faster and at lower costs than what can be achieved on either Ethereum or the main Cronos blockchain.
Cronos zkEVM is built atop the Ethereum blockchain and will live alongside the Cronos Proof-of-Stake and Cronos EVM networks, which host more than $6 billion worth of digital assets and have processed over 150 million transactions to date. With more than one million users across the Cronos ecosystem, it's believed that there is huge potential for a faster, privacy-preserving scaling solution that enables it to expand into the world of interconnected Ethereum networks.
The L2 network was developed as a collaborative effort by Cronos Labs, creator of the Cronos blockchain, Matter Labs, one of the main contributors to ZKsync Era, plus Crypto.com, Fulcrum Finance, VVS Finance, and Veno Finance.
Unlocking Triple-Yield for DeFi Users
The DeFi industry's support for Cronos zkEVM is not surprising because the industry is one of the most obvious use cases for the new scaling network and promises to deliver key benefits to users. In addition to enabling rapid and private transactions, Cronos zkEVM delivers a "triple-yield" value proposition that's hard to ignore, enabling users to unlock three levels of yield. Not only will they accumulate the traditional yield associated with DeFi dApps, but they'll also be able to collect liquid staking tokens such as zkCRO, vETH, and vUSD and restake these to earn additional rewards. Added to that, they'll also be able to earn loyalty points by participating in ecosystem quests through Cronos zkEVM's Pioneer Program.
Users can check out some of the Pioneer Program's available quests now, which invite them to perform various actions on the Cronos zkEVM network in order to earn loyalty points that can be redeemed through a number of partnering DeFi dApps. The rewards are easy to obtain, with the quests involving typical DeFi tasks such as bridging funds, performing transactions, and using various dApps. All told, Cronos intends to give away more than 5 million ZK tokens as part of the Pioneer Program, and there will soon be additional prizes in zkCRO, as well as tokens of participating projects to be had.
The zkCRO token (the liquid-staked version of CRO) is the main gas token of the Cronos zkEVM network, but its account abstraction features mean users can also pay their network fees using various other tokens. The chain also supports "gassless transactions." In terms of onramps, the L2 will be extremely accessible. Cronos Labs said users will have the option of using Cronos zkEVM's native L1-L2 bridge to Ethereum, plus third-party bridges offered by Crypto.com, XY Finance, deBridge, RhinoFi, and others yet to be announced.
Cronos Labs is confident that Cronos zkEVM will soon see a huge influx of new users, having already witnessed thousands participate in its Cronos zkEVM Passage pre-launch deposit program. That initiative attracted over 100 million CROs in deposits on Cronos zkEVM, and the ecosystem will soon become even more enticing, as the vast majority of Cronos-based dApps have shown an interest in deploying on the new L2.
Smooth Launch Expected
The list of launch partners is extensive, encompassing self-custodial wallets such as the Crypto.com DeFi Wallet, MetaMask, and Rabby. It's also a veritable who's who of Cronos DeFi dApps, with key contributors Fulcrum Finance, VVS Finance and Veno Finance joined by the likes of H2 Finance, Fulcrom Finance, Ebisu's Bay, Puush.fun, Wolfswap, Zerolend, Crolon Mars, Minted, Amply Finance, Securd, Reax, Cronos Safe and Cronos Connect.
The Cronos zkEVM is now in its alpha mainnet phase but it won't be long until it enters into beta. The alphas phase, which is designed to enable the network's engineering team to monitor performance and collect feedback from early adopters, is slated to finish by the end of next month. That suggests there's a high degree of confidence that the creators are not expecting too many hiccups with the network.
Cronos Labs' Ken Timsit said the Cronos team has a long track record of creating compelling use cases for blockchain, while contributing to open-source projects. "Through the launch of Cronos zkEVM and our integration with zkSync, we would like to help realize the long-term vision of Ethereum on its path towards infinite scalability and mainstream adoption," he said.
