Decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator, 1inch, has announced the launch of its platform onto zkSync Era. This is a recently released Ethereum scaling network from Matter Labs that uses zero-knowledge cryptography to enable users to transact on Ethereum with higher speeds and lower fees. This move is part of a growing trend of Ethereum scaling chains called zkEVMs that claim to be able to support any app currently based on Ethereum. By porting its protocol to zkSync Era, 1inch has become one of the biggest-name crypto apps to launch onto a zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine.
1inch is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that raised $175 million in a 2021 series B funding round. Its exchange aggregator is a tool that allows crypto traders to find the best prices across different DEX platforms. DEXs are blockchain-based trading platforms that use smart contracts instead of centralized middlemen to allow people to swap between cryptocurrencies. Along with its DEX aggregator, 1inch is also launching its limit order protocol onto zkSync Era.
Currently, Era is the leading zkEVM by total value locked, with $250 million worth of cryptocurrency circulating in its decentralized finance ecosystem, according to L2beat, which tracks Ethereum’s layer 2 scaling chains. In comparison, Polygon zkEVM has just $4 million, and other zkEVM-builders such as ConsenSys and Scroll have yet to launch on Ethereum’s main chain. However, Era’s footprint in Ethereum’s wider layer 2 ecosystems continues to pale in comparison to Arbitrum and Optimism. These are “Optimistic rollup” networks that are less sophisticated than zkEVMs but launched over a year earlier and have attracted billions of dollars to their own networks for scaling Ethereum.
According to Alex Gluchowski, CEO, and co-founder of Matter Labs, decentralized finance has been a driving force behind zkSync Era’s explosive growth. He said, “We expect the deployment of 1inch to contribute to even greater adoption and usage of zkSync Era.” Ethereum’s core developers anticipate that layer 2 scaling networks, including Optimistic rollups and zkEVMs, will soon become the primary point of entry for most of Ethereum’s users.
