Scroll, a native zkEVM that was publicly praised by Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin, has finally launched its mainnet after 15 months of testing. What makes it so special? How’s Scroll’s ecosystem look like? Check out XYBlog to know!
What is Scroll? Highly EVM-Compatible L2 Praised by Vitalik Buterin
Scroll, an innovative Layer 2 scaling solution, offering EVM-compatible infrastructure to augment Ethereum’s capacity and performance. It utilizes zk-proof technology to ensure secure and efficient transaction validation, enhancing privacy and reducing computational load.
In the past year, many L2s that adopt zk-rollups technology and are compatible with EVM (also known as zkEVMs) have been launched. However, Scroll stands out among other zkEVMs for its exceptional focus on developer experience, offering the highest level of compatibility in the zkEVM space to ensure ease of use and seamless integration.
On this point, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also publicly praised Scroll last year at X, saying:
“I’m so happy that Ethereum has such a strong culture of trying hard to make all our moon math as understandable and accessible to people as possible.”
Scroll’s Development Milestones: A 15-Month Journey to Mainnet Launch
In addition to focusing on the developer experience, Scroll places a high emphasis on security. Over the past 15 months, Scroll has conducted three testnet phases (Pre-Alpha, Alpha, and Beta stages).
During this period, they achieved the following milestones:
- Over 450K smart contracts deployed
- 90M+ total transactions
- An average of 305K transactions per day
- Production of 9M+ blocks
- Generation of 280K ZK proofs
“At Scroll, we take security extremely seriously. Scroll approaches security holistically, maintaining a dedicated internal security team, fully auditing our codebase with numerous audit firms, and remaining open-source, which we have been since day one.” stated Haichen Shen, co-founder of Scroll, in a statement.
It is this meticulous approach by the team that enabled Scroll to successfully launch its mainnet in early October this year. Additionally, the extended period of testing has allowed them to accumulate a substantial number of protocols.
According to Scroll’s official website, the ecosystem now hosts over 50 protocols, with a Total Value Locked (TVL) reaching an impressive 14 million.
Evaluating Scroll: A Major Ethereum Scaling Solution?
As we navigate the dynamic landscape of L2 blockchain solutions, Scroll stands out with its unique features and challenges. Let’s take a closer look at what sets Scroll apart, examining its pros and cons to understand its impact in the blockchain world.
Scroll’s Pros
- Highly-Accessible – Scroll offers bytecode-level compatibility, ensuring existing Ethereum apps can be easily migrated.
- Advanced ZK Technology – Scroll leverages the latest in zero-knowledge technology to provide unlimited scalability, quick transaction confirmations, and trustless privacy.
- Low Cost – Compared to Ethereum mainnet, users can complete transactions on Scroll for just a few cents.
- Transparency – Scroll is fully open source from day one, anyone can check their progress by viewing Github repos, forcing them to be transparent and responsible to the community.
Scroll’s Cons
- Competition – The Layer-2 field is arguably the most competitive niche in crypto, with rivals like Arbitrum and Base gunning for L2 dominance.
- Initial Barrier – Initial implementation costs of ZKPs can pose a barrier for some projects.
- Lower popularity – Scroll is less attractive to the market than other L2s, and its TVL and ecosystem richness still have a lot of room for improvement.
Scroll’s Future Outlook: Strategic Growth and Airdrop Potential
Overall, despite facing fierce competition and initial hurdles, Scroll’s technological innovation and compatibility advantages lay a solid foundation for its future development. With continuous technological progress and effective market strategies, Scroll has the potential to occupy a significant position in the Layer-2 field.
Moreover, the Scroll team has not yet conducted a token airdrop. The incentive of such an airdrop could help attract users to regularly transact on Scroll. Particularly after Scroll raised $50 million in a new round of funding this March, valuing it at $1.8 billion, user expectations for an airdrop have deepened.
However, it is important to note that Scroll’s founder, Ye Zhang, stated in November this year at X that Blast’s (a Layer-2 launched by Pacman’s team) blatant airdropping behavior “doesn’t really help drive any real growth and long-term network effect.”
Thus, it can be inferred that even if Scroll plans to conduct an airdrop in the future, they might not overly pre-announce it to the community.
Scroll vs. other L2 solutions
Among all Layer 2 solutions using ZK Rollup technology, Scroll’s mainnet was the last to launch, which is reflected in its number of protocols (around 50) and the TVL. Currently, Scroll’s TVL is around 41.5 million, more than ten times less than the leading zkSync Era.
Comparative Analysis of L2 Solutions
Further comparing Scroll with other mainstream L2s using zk-Rollup technology reveals that its TPS and transaction amount are not particularly outstanding, only slightly surpassing Polygon zkEVM.
However, it’s noteworthy that Scroll’s Total Unique Address count is as high as 2.3 million, second only to zkSync Era. This substantial user base could be a driving force for Scroll’s continued growth. As the number of protocols in its ecosystem increases, it is expected to boost overall metrics.
| Feature | Scroll | Polygon zkEVM | zkSync Era | Linea | Starknet |
| Rollup Type | zk-Rollup | zk-Rollup | zk-Rollup | zk-Rollup | zk-Rollup |
| TVL | 41.56M | 115M | 526M | 167M | 165M |
| Daily TPS | 1.13 | 0.23 | 10.24 | 10 | 4.54 |
| 30 TX Amount | 3.85M | 1.43M | 19.14M | 9.81M | 13.17M |
| Total Unique Address | 2.3M | 0.6M | 4.7M | 1.2M | 1.2M |
Ecosystem on Scroll
Since launching in October 2023, the Scroll ecosystem has rapidly evolved. We’ve handpicked a range of notable projects for you to discover, highlighting key developments and promising applications.
Dex – SkyDrome Finance
SkyDrome Finance is a next-generation AMM designed to serve as Scroll’s central liquidity hub, combining a powerful liquidity incentive engine, vote-lock governance model, and friendly user experience.
Lending – LayerBank
LayerBank, a universal, permissionless on-chain bank, unifies liquidity across the omni-chain ecosystem. It bridges layers and rollup chains for seamless liquidity flow, heralding a new era in decentralized finance.
Derivatives – 10KDex
10KDex is a derivatives exchange that aims to empower more DeFi users to enjoy a centralized exchange-like on-chain trading experience. The team also offers Swap and wallet features, making it more convenient and smooth for users to trade.
Tool – Scroll Name Service
ScrollNS, an omnichain naming service on the Scroll network, built by Star Protocol, revolutionizes the interoperability of DID & blockchain domains.
Gaming – Scroll Kingdoms
Scroll Kingdoms is an MMORPG that targets redefining the gaming landscape by offering the ultimate on-chain gaming experience. Users can create their own characters through smart contracts and develop kingdoms within the game.
In addition to the protocols mentioned above, there are lots of other protocols on Scroll that are waiting for users to explore. These can all be found on the official Scroll ecosystem website!
How to bridge to Scroll?
Once you’re familiar with Scroll and its ecosystem, you’re ready to bridge your assets and embark on exploration!
Bridging to Scroll is very simple, we recommend XY Finance because it offers ultimate routing across multi-chains, making borderless and seamless swapping just a click away.
Compared to Scroll’s official cross-chain bridge, which only supports cross-chain between ETH and Scroll, XY Finance is definitely a more convenient and efficient option for users.
(Fully understand XY Finance: What is XY Finance? The cheapest cross-chain bridge aggregator that operates on 20 EVM chains)
Don’t waste your time! You can now bridge tokens to Scroll with this simple guide:
- Visit XY Finance and connect your Wallet.
- Select the network you want to transfer tokens from (Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism + 15 others).
- Select the token you want to bridge from your network to Scroll and input the amount.
- Review and confirm the transaction. Your tokens will arrive in under 5 minutes.
Now, everything is set! Just hit the button and start your journey through the Scroll universe!
About XY Finance
XY Finance is a cross-chain interoperability protocol aggregating DEXs & Bridges. With the ultimate routing across multi-chains, borderless and seamless swapping is just one click away.
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