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Introducing Cronos zkEVM Testnet
In December 2023, Cronos Labs, the web3 start-up accelerator focusing on DeFi, GameFi, and the development of the Cronos ecosystem, announced the launch of Cronos zkEVM Chain public testnet, a zero-knowledge (ZK) layer 2 blockchain network that represents a significant milestone on Cronos' journey towards scalability and mainstream adoption.
The testnet is a chain using ZK Stack, launched in a partnership between Cronos Labs, Matter Labs, the team behind zkSync, and engineering teams from Crypto.com, VVS Finance, Fulcrom Finance and Veno Finance.
It uses the latest Boojum STARK-based zero-knowledge proof system, which in addition to its ability to run on GPUs with as little as 16 GB of RAM, boasts amongst the lowest fees of any layer 2, with further cost optimizations planned in the near future.
The Cronos zkEVM Testnet network uses zkTCRO as its native token to pay for transaction fees, but it can also support fee payment in any cryptocurrency thanks to zkSync's native account abstraction implemented at the protocol level. In the future Cronos zkEVM Mainnet release, zkCRO, the protocol token of Cronos zkEVM, will be a yield-bearing version of the $CRO cryptocurrency of the Cronos ecosystem. See Architecture for details.
This network uses ZK Stack, a modular, open-source framework leveraging zkSync’s code, that is designed to build custom ZK-powered L2s and L3s (referred to as hyperchains). Hyperchains are fractal-like instances of zkEVM networks running in parallel and with a common settlement on the Ethereum mainnet.In 2024, hyperchains will adopt a shared native bridge to Ethereum mainnet as well as unified interchain messaging, which will make it possible for users to send tokens, messages or transactions across hyperchains while benefiting from the security of the Ethereum network.
As part of internal performance benchmarks, hyperchain technology can already deliver in excess of 100 transactions per second, with significant performance improvements planned for the coming months. The community is invited to run additional tests on this newly launched testnet and share them with the Cronos community.
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