Cronos zkEVM Goes Live: New Stage in Ethereum Layer-2 Scalability

With the official launch of Cronos zkEVM on mainnet, Cronos Labs has created the first third-party layer-2 ZK chain beyond ZKsync Era. This significant development is the result of collaboration between Cronos Labs and engineering teams from Matter Labs, Crypto.com, VVS Finance, Fulcrom Finance, Veno Finance and more than 20 other launch partners.

The layer-2 blockchain known as Cronos zkEVM, which is based on Ethereum and uses ZKsync technology, has moved from the testnet to the mainnet. The testnet saw millions of transactions and over three million distinct addresses when it was first launched in December 2023.

Now that Cronos zkEVMs mainnet is operational, it will work with Cronos EVM and Cronos POS, which together have protected over $6 billion in user assets and handled over 150 million transactions for over a million users. As its main gas token, the new network employs zkCRO, a liquid staked variation of CRO.

Nevertheless, account abstraction gives users more flexibility by allowing them to choose to pay gasless transactions or in a variety of tokens for transaction fees. According to Ken Timsit, Managing Director of Cronos Labs, this launch represents more than a simple technological development. 

It is an important step on Ethereum's path to widespread adoption and infinite scalability. The successful partnership was emphasized by Matter Labs CTO Anthony Rose, who also noted that Cronos zkEVM is a significant milestone, as the first ZK chain to go live after Era. Enhanced security over third-party bridges is provided by a native Ethereum bridge that is secured by Ethereum smart contracts supporting Cronos zkEVM. 

Numerous launch partners, such as self-custodial wallets like Crypto.com, DeFi wallet Rabby and MetaMask, as well as a range of decentralized applications in the DeFi, NFT and gaming industries, support the network. Via loyalty points that can be exchanged for prizes, the Cronos zkEVM Pioneer Program offers users even more incentives.

The ZK Nation airdrop has already yielded over 5,000,000 ZK tokens, making the rewards pool for the Pioneer Program sizable. The Cronos zkEVM mainnet alpha phase will last until the end of September 2024. During this time, the network's performance will be closely watched before moving on to the beta phase.