Electron zkBridge 1.0 Mainnet Launch
Electron Labs ↗ is excited to announce that its zkBridge is now live on the mainnet for everyone.
Electron zkBridge unlocks new DeFi possibilities that can leverage on-chain light clients and zero-knowledge to build interoperable protocols. As we enter a new phase of decentralized finance, Electron is looking forward to seeing how developers use zkBridge technology to build a new set of cross-chain products.
Overview
Electron zkBridge offers a cross-chain protocol between Ethereum and Near blockchains, powered by zk technology and on-chain light clients.
It offers the following features at launch:
- Bridge USDC from Ethereum to receive USDC.e on Near. USDC.e is the popular wrapped stablecoin on Near blockchain
- Bridge USDC.e from Near to receive USDC on Ethereum
- Become a liquidity provider for zkUSDC.e-USDC.e. pool ↗ and earn fee
Comparison with Rainbow Bridge
On Rainbow Bridge, the transfer of assets from Near to Ethereum can take as much as ~8 hours. This LONG window is necessary to enable the fraud-proof mechanism to prevent malicious relayers from stealing bridge funds.
On the contrary, Electron zkBridge can transfer your assets from Near to Ethereum in merely 3 minutes. Electron zkBridge verifies the inclusion of a transaction in the Near blocks by generating a zk proof and verifying it on the Ethereum blockchain.
Together, these technological innovations represent a new paradigm shift in the way messages are transferred among blockchains. This uses cryptographic signatures for message verification and zero-knowledge cryptography to compress and verify data on globally distributed systems.
Launch
Users can connect a variety of Ethereum and Near wallets to access the Electron zkBridge application ↗. We support Metamask, Rainbow, Coinbase Wallet, Ledger, walletConnect and Trust Wallet for Ethereum accounts. For Near accounts, you can use MyNearWallet and Sender wallet.
The usual time is ~25 mins to bridge assets from Ethereum to Near. The transfer time is ~3 mins to bridge assets from Near to Ethereum. Users can also become liquidity providers ↗ in the USDC pool and earn a share of the fee.
Expect more assets and pools to be supported soon after the launch. The protocol is permissionless which means anybody can bridge assets and become a liquidity provider.
Fee
There are two types of fees:
- Relayer fee — While bridging from Ethereum to Near is nearly free (<$0.1), the bridging fee from Near to Ethereum is slightly higher due to light client updation. You can see all the fee details on the zkBridge UI before initiating any transaction.
- Swap fee - The swap fee in the liquidity pool is 0.2%. This only implements when you send/receive USDC.e during bridging. 80% of this fee is distributed back to liquidity providers.
Documentation
The high level design of the architecture can be read at electron-labs.gitbook.io ↗. More documentation and product details will be added later.
Twitter Space
Electron Labs is hosting a Twitter space ↗ on June 12, 14:30 UTC with the founder of Near Blockchain to discuss the launch of Electron protocol and how zk will shape the blockchain era. Join to learn everything about Electron protocol and its zkBridge.
Join our community on Twitter ↗, Discord ↗, and Telegram ↗!
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