GMX - Do ALL of the following:

• Do a spot swap on GMX.

• Be a liquidity provider on GMX (mint GLP).

• Make a leveraged trade ($10 minimum).

Yield Protocol - Do ANY of the following (withdraw at any time):

• Provide liquidity of ≥ $50 of assets to any maturity assets.

• Lend ≥ $50 of assets to any maturity series.

• Borrow ≥ $100 of assets using supported collateral for any maturity series.

On July 5th, claim: "The Blueberry Nebula" NFT by GMX and "Arrival on the Penumbra" NFT by Yield.

Please - always DYOR as with any protocol.

GMX

A decentralized perpetual exchange. Join the GMX Telegram.

For some reason, gas fees are a little high with GMX transactions. It ranged from 0.004Ξ to 0.025Ξ at 52 gwei.

Task #1 - Do a spot swap on GMX

Step 1: Go to gmx.io/trade.

Step 2: Connect a wallet and switch to the Arbitrum One network. Don’t see Arbitrum? You can visit chainlist.org/chain/42161 to add the Arbitrum One RPC to your MetaMask.

Step 3: Click on the swap tab. Make sure you stay on Market order. Limit orders don’t count for this campaign.

Step 4: Select a token and enter the amount you would like to swap. Click swap.

You will need DAI or USDC for the tasks in Yield Protocol. You will also need either ETH, WETH, wBTC, LINK, UNI, USDC, USDT, DAI, FRAX, or MIM to use as collateral when minting GLP as part of the next task. At the time of writing, DAI and FRAX have reached capacity as collateral for GLP - so don’t swap for those.

Step 5: Confirm the details and click on confirm swap.

Step 6: Confirm the transaction in your MetaMask.

Step 7: Once the swap is complete, you will see a green notification at the bottom right of your screen.

Task #2 - Be a liquidity provider on GMX (mint GLP)

Step 1: Go to gmx.io/buy_glp

Step 2: Connect a wallet and switch to the Arbitrum One network. Don’t see Arbitrum? You can visit chainlist.org/chain/42161 to add the Arbitrum One RPC to MetaMask.

Step 3: Select a token to use as collateral in order to mint GLP.

$GLP is a liquidity provider (LP) token that is composed of a basket of assets (see below). $GLP can be minted using any of the assets listed. There is an additional fee to mint certain tokens depending if it leads to an inbalance the index.

Step 4: After selecting a token and entering an amount, click on approve.

Step 5: Approve the transaction in MetaMask. This transaction is to allow GMX to spend the token you selected.

Step 6: Click on Buy GLP.

Step 7: Approve the transaction in MetaMask.

Step 7: Once the trade is complete, you will see a green notification at the bottom right of your screen.

Task #3 Make a leveraged trade ($10 minimum)

Step #1: Go to gmx.io/trade.

Step 2: Connect a wallet and switch to the Arbitrum One network. Don’t see Arbitrum? You can visit chainlist.org/chain/42161 to add the Arbitrum One RPC to MetaMask.

Step 3: You can go long or short on ETH, BTC, LINK, or UNI. Make sure the leverage slider is on (keep it at 1.1 if you are inexperienced). You need to bet a minimum of $10 worth of an asset.

You long an asset if you believe the price will go up. You short an asset if you think the price will go down.

Warning: Derivatives are a risky investment. If the price goes in the opposite direction of your position, you risk liquidation. Using high leverage increases the chance of liquidation.

Step 4: Click on enable leverage.

Step 5: Approve the transaction to enable leverage.

Step 6: If you are paying with a token other than Ether, you will be asked to approve the token. Proceed to approve the token.

There is no token approval needed if you pay in ETH.

Step 7: Click on Long or Short.

Step 8: Click on Long or Short after reviewing the details.

Step 9: Approve the transaction in MetaMask.

Step 9: Once the trade is complete, you will see a green notification at the bottom right of the screen.

Yield Protocol

A permissionless market for collateralized fixed-rate borrowing and lending. Join the Yield Discord.

Yield only supports USDC and DAI on Arbitrim. You could swap ETH for USDC using GMX from the steps above.

Task #1 - Provide at least $50 worth of liquidity.

Step 1: Go to app.yieldprotocol.com/pool

Step 2: Connect your wallet.

Step 3: Switch to the Arbitrum One network. Don’t see Arbitrum? You can visit chainlist.org/chain/42161 to add the Arbitrum One RPC to MetaMask.

Step 4: On the Pool page input a value of $51 or greater. You can select USDC or DAI. Then click on next step.

Deposit at least $51. As you will see in step 7, only 49.34 LP tokens were recieved even though 50 USDC was deposited. The Odyssey program requires at least $50.

Step 5: Review the details and check the disclaimer box after reading. Then click on Pool.

Step 6: Approve the following two transactions in your MetaMask.

Step 7: Your deposit will show after the transaction is complete.

Task #2 - Lend ≥ $50 of assets to any maturity series

Step 1: Go to app.yieldprotocol.com/lend

Step 2: Connect a wallet.

Step 3: Switch to the Arbitrum One network. Don’t see Arbitrum? You can visit chainlist.org/chain/42161 to add the Arbitrum One RPC to MetaMask.

Step 4: On the Lend page input a value of $51 or greater. You can select USDC or DAI. Then click on next step.

Deposit at least $51 to ensure you make the $50 mark due to slippage. If you encounter an “amount exceeds the maximum you can lend” message, simply keep refreshing the page and await for the lending pool to open up as people withdraw.

Step 5: Review the details and click on Lend.

Step 6: Approve the following two transactions in MetaMask.

Step 7: Your deposit will show after the transaction is complete.

Task #3 - Borrow ≥ $100 of assets using supported collateral for any maturity series.

Step 1: Go to app.yieldprotocol.com/borrow

Step 2: Connect a wallet.

Step 3: Switch to the Arbitrum One network. Don’t see Arbitrum? You can visit chainlist.org/chain/42161 to add the Arbitrum One RPC to MetaMask.

Step 4: On the Borrow page input a value of $101 or greater. You can select USDC or DAI. Then click on next step.

Step 5: Set the amount of collateral. The higher the collateral amount, the less chance of liquidation. You will get this ETH back when you pay back the loan, as long as the position has not been liquidated.

Step 6: Review the details, read the disclaimer, and check the box. Then click on Borrow.

Step 7: Approve the following transaction in MetaMask.

Step 8: Your loan will appear after the transaction is complete.

Congrats - You’ve completed this week’s assignment. Follow me on Twitter @silecrypto if you found this helpful. I’ll see you next week.

Listing of an application on this post does not represent an endorsement by Matter Labs. Please do your own research and exercise caution prior to using any application. Always read signatures prior to signing a message.

#1 Move Funds To zkSync

First, move funds into zkSync via a bridge, gateway, or an exchange. If funds are being sent to a new zkSync account, make sure to send enough funds to cover the single-time account activation fee (see #2 below). Pease read this tutorial for instructions on using the zkSync native bridge,

Bridge: A bridge allows users to transfer assets between blockchains. The zkSync native bridge supports ERC-20 token transfers between Ethereum Mainnet and zkSync. Layerswap is a solution that allows users to deposit funds from a centralized exchange into zkSync.

• zkSync Native Bridge

• Orbiter Finance

• ZigZag Bridge

• Layerswap

Gateway: A gateway is a fiat on/off ramp that allows users to purchase crypto with fiat using a credit card or bank account. The gateways listed below support certain assets on zkSync. Gateways require Know Your Customer (KYC) credentials.

• Ramp Network

• Banxa

• Utorg

• MoonPay

Exchange: Sending funds from an exchange that supports zkSync is the lowest-cost option because it avoids the need to bridge. The following exchanges support certain assets on zkSync. Please verify with an exchange prior to depositing or withdrawing funds.

• ByBit (Deposits and withdrawals are paused at time of writing)

#2 Activate Account + Make A Transfer

When making a transaction for the first time, users will be prompted activate their account. This is a single-time operation and the process will vary based on the application used. The transfer tool within zkSync can be used to activate an account. To activate an account, follow the steps below as prompted.

Step 1: Go to the transfer tool here and connect a wallet. Step 2: Paste in a transfer to address. You can even transfer to yourself. Step 3: Set the transfer amount. Step 4: Click “Authorize Sign Account Activation” and sign the first signature.

Step 5: Click “Sign Account Activation” and sign the second signature. This signature registers a key pair (ChangePubKey) for the zkSync wallet.

Step 6: Click “Proceed to Send on zkSync” and sign the third and final signature. This signature includes a gas fee for the Account Activation Fee and the Transfer Fee.

That’s it! There will be two transactions shown in zkscan. The first transaction type will display “ChangePubKey.” The second transaction type will display “Transfer.” Once the transaction is verified, the wallet is activated and ready for use.

#3 Mint NFTs On zkSync

zkSync 1.0 has native support for minting, transferring, and swapping NFTs. The minting process involves the uploading of content to IPFS in order to obtain a Content Identifier (CID). A step-by-step tutorial for minting an NFT on zkSync is linked here. Pinata Cloud is a pinning service that allows users to host files on a private IPFS node.

• Mint an NFT Tutorial - Official zkSync Tutorial

• Pinata Cloud - Private IPFS Node

• zkNFT - Community-led Front End (no longer maintained)

• OpenSky - Community-led Front End (no longer maintained)

An NFT will be visible and can be transferred after the transaction reaches a verified status. This is represented by two green checkmarks and can take up to 7 hours after the minting process is complete. NFTs can also be withdrawn from zkSync to L1, but cannot be bridged from L1 to zkSync at this time.

Metadata Not Found: If a “metadata not found” error is encountered, try pinning the IPFS file. Make sure the CID of the metadata json file was submitted, not the CID of the image. Lastly, give the IPFS network some time to host the file across peers.

OpenSky

OpenSky is front end tool for minting NFTs on zkSync 1.0. It was created by community member neoc#0001. The tool automates the creation of the metadata json file needed to embed the preview image in the NFT. Users simply upload an image and provide a few optional details to mint.

Here’s how to mint an NFT using OpenSky.

Warning: OpenSky was created by a community member and is no longer being maintained. Errors may occur.

Step 1: Visit the tool here. Step 2: Connect a wallet. Step 3: Click on the “Mint” tab. Step 4: Fill in the details. Everything is optional except for uploading an image.

• Name: The name of the NFT.

• External Link: A link to the NFT image (e.g. Google Drive).

• Description: A brief description of the NFT.

• Select File: Upload an image for the NFT.

• Attributes: The first box is the trait type (e.g. mouth). The second box is the trait name (e.g. happy). More attributes can be added as needed.

Step 5: Click on “Mint.” Step 6: Review and approve the signature. The gas fee for minting will be shown in the signature. That’s it! The status of the NFT will be displayed in the “Profile” tab.

#4 Make A Payment Link On zkCheckout

zkCheckout is a tool for creating payment links on zkSync. The links can be used as payable invoices or requests for payment. zkCheckout can also be used to create a batch of transactions. This allows a sender to transfer tokens to up to 20 wallets using a single transaction. Developers can use the zkCheckout SDK to implement payments via zkSync onto any website.

To create a payment link, follow the steps below as prompted.

Step 1: Go to zkCheckout and click “Try it now.” Step 2: Paste in your wallet as the receiving address. Step 3: Select the token and amount you would like to be paid. Step 4: Click “Build your payment link.”

Step 5: The payment link will pop up. Copy it and send it to the individual you are requesting funds from.

#5 Donate To Public Goods On Gitcoin Grants

Gitcoin is a funding platform for supporting public goods and open source software projects. Gitcoin Grants is a product within Gitcoin that funds projects with Quadratic Funding. Anyone can create a grant for an open-source project across any discipline in Web3.

Note: There is no active grant for zkSync. There are many grants for third party projects building on zk-technology. Please be aware these projects are not managed by zkSync.

Here’s how to fund a grant using zkSync as a checkout option.

Step 1: Explore the grants ecosystem here. Step 2: Find projects you like and click “Add to Cart.”

Step 3: Click on the shopping cart in the top right and click “Checkout.” Step 4: Sign-in with a GitHub account. Step 5: Select a token and enter the donation amount for each project. Step 6: Click “I’m Ready to Checkout” then click “zkSync Checkout.”

Step 7: Connect a wallet to Gitcoin. Step 8: Click “Proceed” after reading the pop-up message. A link to zkCheckout will open in a new tab. Keep the original tab open.

Step 9: Connect a wallet to zkCheckout.

Step 10: Select a fee token and click “Complete payment.”

Step 10: Approve the transaction in your wallet and await confirmation. Click on “Close” and go back to the original tab. The donation is complete!

#6 Make A Trade On ZigZag Exchange

ZigZag is currently the only decentralized exchange (DEX) on zkSync 1.0 Mainnet. It supports limit orders, market orders, and more than 30 token pairs. At this time, ZigZag does not charge any trading fees. Users must still pay a swap fee which includes the gas fee of the transaction. ZigZag also supports bridging between Ethereum Mainnet, zkSync, and Polygon.

• ZigZag Exchange

To make a market order on ZigZag, follow the steps below as prompted.

Step 1: Go to trade.zigzag.exchange. Step 2: Connect a wallet. Step 3: Select a token pair. Click on Market. Then click on the buy or sell tab. Step 4: Enter the trade amount. The price will be the spot price of the asset. Step 5: Click the buy or sell button. Step 6: Review and sign the message to execute the trade.

That’s it! The order will show up in the orders tab until it is filled. Once the order is filled, it will show up in the fills tab as completed and the funds are available for use.

#7 Create A zkSync Wallet On Argent

Argent is a smart wallet managed by a smart contract instead of a private key. There is no mnemonic phrase. Rather, other wallets can be added as guardians that have the authority to approve transactions and initiate wallet recovery. Argent has taken the lead on bringing DeFi to L2 by integrating with zkSync. Users now have access to DeFi at a fraction of the cost compared to Ethereum Mainnet. Please read this article for step-by-step instructions for creating an Argent wallet.

Argent wallets created after July 2021 automatically claim a zkSync address during the wallet creation process. A zkSync address will need to be manually claimed for Argent wallets created before July 2021. Claiming a zkSync address involves an Ethereum Mainnet transaction and will incur a network fee. Please read this article for instructions on how to claim a zkSync address for accounts created before July 2021.

#8 Earn Yield In Yearn Finance (Argent)

Yearn Finance is a yield aggregator that allow users to optimize earnings. Users can deposit assets into vaults with various investment strategies. The vaults automatically adjust to optimize earnings as market conditions change. Currently, Yearn Finance supports vaults for ETH, DAI, USDC, and wBTC. Please read this article for step-by-step instructions for using Yearn Finance.

#9 Lend In Aave (Argent)

Aave is a decentralized lending protocol that allows users to borrow and lend assets. Lenders earn variable interest payments paid for by borrowers. Argent's Aave integration on zkSync supports deposits, allowing users to earn interest for lending DAI and USDC. Please read this article for step-by-step instructions for using Aave.

#10 Invest In IndexCoop Tokens (Argent)

IndexCoop is a community-owned platform focused on creating crypto indices. $INDEX token holders vote on proposals and product upgrades. Index tokens provide exposure to a basket of assets in a certain ecosystems such as DeFi or NFTs. IndexCoop’s icETH token is also supported on Argent, allowing users to invest in a leveraged ETH position. Please read this article for step-by-step instructions for using IndexCoop.

#11 Stake ETH With Lido Finance (Argent)

Lido Finance is a liquid staking platform for proof-of-stake blockchains. It allows users to earn rewards for staking assets used to secure the network. Argent supports ETH staking on zkSync through Lido Finance. Users deposit ETH into Lido and receive an interest-bearing token called Wrapped Staked Ether (wstETH). Please read this article for step-by-step instructions for using Lido Finance.

#12 Play Metaverse Games In Tevaera

https://vimeo.com/697152154

Tevaera is a metaverse game built on zkSync. Citizens of the Tevaera Metaverse, called Tevans, can experience, build, monetize, and govern digital islands.

Warning: Tevaera requires an email. It will be associated with the address used to sign in with. Only use this dapp if you are ok with the potential to DOX your address with your email address.

A Minimal Viable Product (MVP) quest game called Teva Quest is live now. Users can mint a Tevaera Citizen ID NFT that will act as an access token to play Terra Quest and earn Karma. Users can play-to-earn Karma and in-game tokens which can be spent to upgrade character skills. Please read this article for step-by-step instructions to obtain a Citizen ID and play Teva Quest.

Already Done It All?

Thanks being an active zkSync user! The ecosystem of applications is always growing and new projects launch to mainnet each month. There are many applications live on zkSync 1.0 Mainnet that were not included in this post, such as wallets and infrastructure providers. It’s a lot to keep up with. Here’s a zkSync ecosystem tracker to help track what’s available:

https://silecrypto.notion.site/bc00563cf7a2485eaec5649a40cf71c1?v=b8a510d9ebc44b108521a0eb8fbb28b2

Matter Labs is currently working diligently towards zkSync 2.0, an EVM-compatible zkRollup. You can learn more on testing zkSync 2.0 here.

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Feedback? Message me on Twitter. Questions? Join the zkSync Discord.

• The blockchain trilemma and goal of layer 2 scaling solutions.

• A definition of zkSync, zkRollup, and zkSNARK.

• An explanation of how zkSync achieves high throughput, fast finality, and low-gas transfers.

This is written in May 2022. The accuracy of information in this post can change based on upgrades to zkSync or Ethereum.

The Scalability Problem

Ethereum is a decentralized and secure blockchain, but it’s not scalable due to its low throughput of roughly 15 transactions per second. When the network gets busy, transaction speed slows down, resulting in a queue of transactions. During slow speeds, users participate in a bidding war, increasing their gas prices in an effort to jump the queue and get included in the next block. Ethereum miners change the order of transactions in favor of those with the highest priority fee. This creates a slow and expensive user experience.

The goal of scalability is to increase transaction throughput and speed of finality. The challenge is doing this without sacrificing decentralization or security. This challenge is known as the blockchain trilemma, the idea that blockchains can only achieve two out of the three properties with respect to decentralization, security, and scalability. In an attempt to solve the blockchain trilemma, upgrades to Ethereum aim to make the network more scalable and secure without sacrificing decentralization.

There are many approaches to scaling Ethereum, including on-chain solutions like sharding and off-chain solutions like plasma, state channels, rollups, and sidechains. Layer 2 (L2) is a category of scaling solutions that consists of smart contracts deployed on Layer 1 (L1) that are responsible for processing deposits, withdrawals, and verifying proofs, while computation and storage are performed off-chain. Unlike sidechains, L2 inherits the security of the L1 network. It is one of the most promising scaling solutions available today. There are currently three main L2 solutions: State Channels, Plasma, and Rollups.

zkRollups, zkProofs, zk-SNARKs

A rollup is a type of L2 scaling solution that batches transactions off-chain and submits them to L1 as a single transaction. There are two types of rollups, Oprimistic Rollups and Zero Knowledge Rollups (zkRollups). In this post, I will only cover zkRollups, the scaling mechanism used by zkSync. zkRollups is a type of rollup that uses Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) to prove the validity of transactions in a rollup block (batch of transactions).

Zero Knowledge (ZK) refers to one party being able to prove to another that a particular set of information is true, without revealing what that information is, hence there is zero knowledge of the information but there is proof that it exists. Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge (zk-SNARK) is a type of ZKP used by zkRollups. A zk-SNARK is generated for each rollup block which is then verified on-chain by the L1 contract. Each zk-SNARK includes a proof of the validity of every single transaction in a rollup block.

Processing transactions off-chain enables rollups to increase throughput. Computation executed off-chain does not affect the speed of the on-chain part of the transaction. Rollups use compression to reduce the size of on-chain data. By reducing the size of on-chain data, rollups not only increase finality speeds, but they reduce the cost of gas. Having less on-chain data saves processing power, time, and storage.

The Contender

zkSync is a L2 blockchain that uses zkRollups to enable high transaction throughput and low-gas transfers.

High Transaction Throughput

zkSync scales transaction throughput with speeds of 2000+ transactions per second. It achieves this by reducing the amount of on-chain transaction data, allowing for transactions to be processed more quickly and for more transactions to fit in a block. Only a cryptographic proof and the state delta (the change in the state of the L2 blockchain) are stored on-chain.

Fast Finality

Finality in a rollup block can be reached in as fast as 10 minutes. Transactions in zkSync reach finality as soon as a SNARK proof for a particular rollup block is posted and verified by the L1 smart contract. This is a significant advantage over Fraud Proofs, which require up to 7 days for a transaction to reach finality.

The off-chain confirmation for transactions on zkSync are instant, however, users still rely on the validator to include the transaction in a rollup block. In the future, zkSync validators will be required to add a security bond to the network as an economic guarantee that they will include the transaction in a rollup block.

Low Gas Fees

As a result of using SNARK validity proofs and compressing on-chain data, zkSync is able to reduce gas costs by up to 200x compared to a L1 transaction. SNARKs allow zkSync to only store the SNARK itself and the state delta on-chain. Everything else is computed and stored off-chain, where operation costs are fractions of a cent per transaction. The data for every rollup block is published as a root hash in L1 calldata, the lowest-cost data location. By bundling thousands of transactions, users split the cost of a single L1 transaction, reducing gas costs even further.

Gasless Meta-Transactions

zkSync supports gasless meta-transactions, enabling users to pay gas fees in the token being transferred. Meta-transactions are transactions in which a relayer pays the gas fee in ether on behalf of the sender. Dapps on zkSync can choose to sponsor the fee or they can have validators accept ERC-20 tokens for gas fees. This abstracts gas from the UX because it no longer requires users to have an ether balance or adjust gas settings.

Scalable Payments

Given the low-gas transfers and high throughput of zkRollups, zkSync works as an exceptional solution for scalable payments. With transaction throughput equal to, if not greater than Visa, zkSync can be used as a payment solution for p2p, e-commerce, retail, and more. zkCheckout allows users to accept token payments on zkSync via payment links that function as payable invoices. Developers can use the zkCheckout SDK to implement payments via zkSync onto any website. zkCheckout has already been implemented into Gitcoin Grants as a checkout option.

Mainnet-Level Security

Because zkSync is a L2 solution, it inherits the security and decentralization of Ethereum. Once the rollup block is verified and produced in L1, it is immutable. Users do not have to rely on 3rd parties or validators for the security of their funds. Validators are not able to corrupt the state of the L2 blockchain nor steal user funds. If zkSync validators stop cooperating and fail to include user transactions in a rollup block, users can use an emergency exit function to withdraw funds back to L1. There is no operational activity required on zkSync to keep the funds safe.

Conclusion

Ethereum L2 scaling solutions are live and thriving with close to $5 billion in combined TVL. Currently, there are several implementations of an EVM-compatible Optimistic Rollup. zkRollups are getting there, with several projects working towards EVM-compatibility. The scaling and gas improvements brought forward by zkSync are a significant step towards mass crypto adoption.

Smart contract support will come at the release of zkSync 2.0, an upgrade that will include an EVM-compatible zkRollup. It will enable existing Ethereum applications to seamlessly launch on zkSync as well as allow Solidity developers to building natively on L2. The uptick in banking on a fast, cheap, and secure L2 is near.

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Feedback? Message me on Twitter. Questions? Join the zkSync Discord.