zkSync Era Mainnet Launch: Detailed Explanation of Unique Architecture and Ecological Applications

Recently, a highly anticipated Ethereum L2 scaling solution zkSync announced the official launch of its Era Mainnet, open for use by all users. This news has sparked a vigorous response in the market, with zkSync's trading volume for the week reaching approximately 2,025,135 transactions, and the average daily trading volume over 7 days hitting a historical high, currently surpassing 20 million transactions. This fully reflects the strong interest users have in the project.

Matter Labs, the parent company of zkSync, has previously completed multiple rounds of financing, with a total financing amount reaching $458 million (, including a $200 million ecological fund ). It is worth noting that Matter Labs CEO Alex Gluchowski recently stated that the launch of zkSync Era does not mean an immediate issuance of tokens. This is because the network is currently still primarily centralized, with Matter Labs controlling the sequencers and validators. The consideration to launch tokens will only occur when the sequencers need to be decentralized in the future, which is expected to be around a year from now.

Four Unique Architectures of zkSync Era

The zkSync Era network underwent a year-long testing phase prior to the Mainnet launch, with multiple security audits, public competitions, and bounty programs, totaling an investment of $3.8 million. Meanwhile, zkSync also implemented independent monitoring and risk mitigation mechanisms, which will continue until the end of the Alpha phase. Compared to the zkSync Lite network, the Era version updates four key architectures:

1. Local Abstract Accounts: Allow any account on Era to pay fees using any token, and even enable zero-fee transactions on certain protocols.

2. LLVM-based Compiler: The first LLVM-based compiler has been built for EVM languages (Solidity, Vyper, and Yul), which is expected to significantly improve performance and development experience.

3. State Difference Release: By releasing state differences instead of transaction inputs, the system gains advantages such as data compression, more frequent oracle updates, low-cost privacy, and seamless off-chain storage expansion.

4. Super Chain Architecture: Achieves super scalability, allowing anyone to deploy custom consensus, validator sets, or data availability super chains while inheriting the security and finality of the underlying L1.

In addition, zkSync Era has also introduced a block execution delay mechanism, where each L2 block submitted to L1 will have a time lock before execution and finalization. This allows the zkSync team to monitor each block and investigate and address anomalies in a timely manner.

Overview of zkSync Era Ecosystem Applications

Currently, there are over 240 applications based on or set to be deployed on the zkSync chain, covering multiple fields such as DeFi, GameFi, infrastructure, social, and public goods. Here are a few representative applications that have already been deployed on the zkSync Era network:

1. Argent: A smart contract wallet that supports low gas fees and fast transactions, providing trading, staking, and yield farming services.

2. Mute: A decentralized exchange based on zkRollup, where users can trade, stake for mining, and obtain bonds. The current total locked value is approximately $1.39 million.

3. mintsquare: NFT trading platform, currently supports zkSync Era testnet and Alpha Mainnet.

4. Tevaera: A decentralized gamified metaverse platform, including core products such as Teva Games, Teva Core, Teva Chain, Teva DEX, and Teva Market.

5. SpaceFi: A cross-chain Web3 platform that connects Cosmos and Layer2, providing trading and liquidity services on the zkSync Era.

6. Rhino: Multi-chain DeFi aggregator, users can trade, stake, and perform cross-chain operations.

7. Cross-chain bridges: Multiple cross-chain bridges have supported the zkSync Era network, including Celer, Orbiter, and multichain.

Conclusion

The launch of zkSync Era's Mainnet is undoubtedly an important milestone, but users should remain cautious. The current network is in the Alpha stage, and the risks are not yet fully clear. At the same time, ecological projects are still in their early stages, and users need to be especially careful when using products, ensuring they recognize official channels to protect their asset security. With the emergence of more native applications and further decentralization of the network, zkSync Era is expected to occupy an important position in the Layer 2 space.