Bob Network is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Bitcoin that enables faster, cheaper transactions and advanced features like smart contracts while relying on Bitcoin’s base layer for security. Recently, Bob became a Babylon-secured network, leveraging Babylon’s system that taps into Bitcoin’s hash power to enhance security for Bitcoin-compatible chains. This integration also supports the ecosystem of Bitcoin Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) by providing a secure foundation for staked Bitcoin to interact with decentralized applications, ensuring both liquidity and the robust security of the underlying asset.
You can find more information about Bitcoin Liquid staking in our previous article. This article will provide a step by step tutorial on how to participate in the last season for farming BOB layer2 and likely getting qualified for the Airdrop. The focus will be more for Ethereum familiar users.
If you hold Bitcoin and wish to bridge it to BOB, you can connect your Bitcoin wallet. For this tutorial, however, we’ll focus on bridging Ethereum assets from other Layer 2 networks such as Base or Linea.
Add the BOB Network to Your Wallet:
Add the BOB network to your wallet by following the on-screen instructions.
Sign a message to confirm (this step does not require gas fees).
Access the Welcome Page:
After successfully connecting your wallet, you will be redirected to the welcome page.
Click on “Start Harvesting” to begin. Superchain users will receive bonus points.
Step 2 – Intract quests
Complete quests on Intract. This step is optional, but it might help for the airdrop.
Navigate the BOB dashboard via the menu bar in the top-right corner, where you’ll find:
Fusion: Your personalized dashboard.
Bridge: Access native and third-party bridges to move assets to the BOB network.
Apps: A directory of apps available for farming points and interacting with the ecosystem.
Stake: A one-click staking solution to get LSTs (liquid staked bitcoin).
Multipliers: You can view the points multipliers for each asset. Bitcoin LSTs offer the highest multipliers, making them the most rewarding option. However, if you prefer, you can keep your assets in Ethereum or USD and still participate.
Step 4 – One-Click BTC Staking
Stake Bitcoin seamlessly by clicking on the “Stake” button to acquire Bitcoin LSTs. To proceed, connect your Bitcoin wallet and bridge your Bitcoin to your BOB EVM wallet, selecting your preferred LST. Each LST allows you to earn points in its respective project, with many also contributing to your Babylon points balance. For a detailed step-by-step guide, follow this guide.
Step 5 – Bridge assets from Ethereum L2
If you don’t have a Bitcoin wallet, you can bridge assets from Ethereum instead. Use the BOB native bridge for transfers from the Ethereum mainnet, or opt for a third-party bridge to move assets from a Layer 2 network. You can use 0xastra, owlto or any other bridge that is supported. Choose the option with the lowest fees
Bridging 0.1 ETH from Base to the BOB chain costs approximately 0.00039 ETH on 0xastra. If you’re bridging from Arbitrum, you also have the option to bridge WBTC directly, providing more flexibility.
You can keep ETH on the BOB network and use it to provide liquidity. However, note that the multiplier for points is lower than that of Bitcoin LSTs. In this guide, we’ll convert ETH to Bitcoin LST and use it in DeFi strategies, but you can choose the asset that aligns with your preferences. You’re not obligated to follow our strategy.
Step 6 – Review you strategy
Review the strategies outlined in the BOB dashboard to optimize your points and familiarize yourself with the available apps.
Step 7 – Convert ETH to solvBTC
If you didn’t bridge WBTC directly to the BOB network, you’ll need to first convert ETH to WBTC, as there’s currently no direct route from ETH to SolvBTC.
We used izumi.finance to convert ETH to WBTC, but you can use any DEX listed in the BOB apps directory.
Once your WBTC is ready, visit solv finance on the BOB network to convert it to SolvBTC.
From the menu, select SolvBTC, ensure you’re on the BOB network, and complete the conversion from WBTC to SolvBTC.
Leverage SolvBTC in DeFi:
With SolvBTC, explore DeFi opportunities to maximize your points. Start with platforms like Pell Network and Segment Finance, or check the full list of supported apps in your Fusion dashboard.
Step 8 – Pell network
Pell network is a restaking platform, similar to Eigenlayer or Karak on Ethereum. It supports assets on BOB, including SolvBTC, and offers opportunities to earn Pell and Solv points. Restaking SolvBTC is straightforward and benefits from BOB’s low gas fees. Additionally, Pell’s airdrop campaign provides exposure to multiple rewards.
Here are the assets supported for BOB. You can restake the SolvBTC we just acquired in step 7.
Step 9 – Segment finance
Segment Finance allows you to supply assets and borrow against them. You can loop borrowed assets back into your supply to maximize returns.
After connecting, visit the Segment dashboard to explore pools and see the points earned when supplying SolvBTC.
Supply your SolvBTC, enable the collateral toggle, and borrow SolvBTC while staying within safe limits to avoid liquidation. Repeat the process based on your risk tolerance.
Finally, review your account to ensure your net APR is as expected and you are compliant with all risk parameters.
You can supply ETH and borrow Bitcoin LRT assets such as uniBTC, LBTC, or SolvBTC against it. This allows you to obtain Bitcoin LRT without swapping your ETH. However, since ETH and BTC are not correlated, you will need to actively monitor price movements to avoid liquidation.
Step 10 – BedRock LST
You can convert your WBTC to BedRock’s LSTuniBTC. This will help you get Babylon points and Bedrock Diamonds while getting Bob points too.
Follow this link and stake your WBTC to uniBTC. Make sure you are on the BOB network. Be careful, the unstake feature is not available yet. You can always swap them to other assets using oku.trade with some price impact (step 11).
Once you receive your uniBTC, you can go to Pell network (Step 8) to restake them or Segment finance (Step 9) to lend them. You could use them in any other DEFI app.
Here is the restaking asset uniBTC on Pell network. Always make sure you are on the BOB network.
It is important to note that unstaking from Pell has a 7 days pending period. Withdrawal from Segment is instant if you repay enough debt to cover the liquidation threshold.
Step 11 – Provide liquidity to a DEX
You can go to oku.trade to swap you ETH or WBTC directly into a Bitcoin LST. Make sure you are on the BOB network. You can choose between SolvBTC.BBN, uniBTC or LBTC. They have the best multipliers for BOB points.
Once your Bitcoin LST is ready, you can provide liquidity to a pool. Bitcoin-backed LST pairs generally carry a lower risk of impermanent loss, as long as they remain pegged to Bitcoin. However, always review the associated risks, including potential depegging events. Make sure you choose a pool that has a good amount of liquidity.
Go to “Position maker” and choose a pool:
In this case, we chose uniBTC / SolvBTC.BBN. Select your desired range, add the liquidity amounts and click on Deploy position.
Once submitted, you can view your positions:
You can always restake or lend your SolvBTC.BBN, uniBTC or LBTC to Pell network (Step 8) or Segment finance (Step 9) allowing you to accumulate additional points in those platforms.
Step 12- Ongoing Management – Fusion Dashboard
Regularly check your Fusion dashboard for updates, new quests, and performance metrics. Adjust your strategy to maximize points and rewards depending on each app’s performance.
Understanding the risks
Farming on BOB involves multiple layers of complexity and risk. Your Bitcoin, originally on the Bitcoin mainnet, is now wrapped in multiple smart contracts and represented as a Bitcoin LST (e.g., SolvBTC) on BOB. These layers, secured by Babylon or other protocols, are exposed to potential bugs or vulnerabilities. Any issue in these contracts could lead to severe asset loss. Additionally, Bitcoin’s price volatility and your long-term holding strategy should also be considered. Only invest what you are ready to lose, conduct thorough research, and stay informed about potential risks.
Optimistic Rollups (ORs) are a widely used Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, offering higher throughput and lower fees by processing transactions off-chain while maintaining security through Ethereum’s Layer 1. Despite their promise, Optimistic Rollups come with notable challenges and limitations, especially when handling invalid transactions, hacked funds, and cross-chain interactions. This article explores these challenges and their implications, particularly concerning bridges.
Understanding Optimistic Rollups
Optimistic Rollups work on the principle that all off-chain transactions are valid unless proven otherwise. Transactions are bundled into batches and submitted to Ethereum Layer 1, where they await a “challenge period.” During this window (typically 7 days), anyone can dispute a transaction by submitting a fraud proof if they detect invalid state transitions.
Key features include:
Fraud Proofs: Mechanisms to dispute invalid state transitions by replaying the disputed computation on Ethereum.
Challenge Periods: Timeframes during which disputes can be raised before transactions are finalized.
Economic Incentives: Validators are economically disincentivized from including invalid transactions due to slashing risks.
While theoretically robust, several practical challenges hinder the full effectiveness of these systems.
Key Challenges and Limitations
1. Reliance on Honest Actors
Fraud-proof mechanisms depend on the assumption that at least one honest actor will monitor transactions and challenge invalid ones. In practice:
Economic Viability: The rewards for disputing a fraudulent transaction often do not outweigh the costs (e.g., gas fees and effort).
No Disputes Detected: Since the inception of Optimism and Arbitrum, there have been no publicly reported incidents of successful fraud proofs, raising questions about the incentives to actively monitor rollup transactions.
2. Handling Hacked Funds
If funds originate from a hack but the state transitions are valid, Optimistic Rollups cannot inherently detect or reverse these transactions. For example:
Protocol Neutrality: Rollups are designed to be protocol-neutral, meaning they enforce rules of validity but do not judge the origin of funds.
Irreversibility: Once hacked funds are used in valid transactions, reversing them requires external mechanisms such as governance intervention or social consensus.
3. Bridging Challenges
Cross-chain bridges exacerbate the limitations of rollups. If hacked or fraudulent funds are bridged to another chain, recovery becomes almost impossible:
Lack of Coordination: Rollups cannot enforce reversals on bridged assets because the funds are under the control of the destination chain.
Withdrawal Delays: While challenge periods provide a buffer to detect fraud, they may not be enough to stop funds from being bridged if fraud detection is delayed.
4. Governance and Social Recovery
While governance systems (e.g., Arbitrum DAO) can intervene to freeze or reverse transactions in extreme cases, this approach has limitations:
Slow Decision-Making: Governance processes take time and are not suitable for immediate responses.
Centralization Concerns: Introducing governance control undermines the decentralized ethos of rollups.
5. Dependence on Off-Chain Systems
Addressing the limitations of rollups often involves off-chain solutions, such as:
Analytics Tools: Blockchain analytics can trace hacked funds but cannot enforce reversals.
Third-Party Cooperation: Exchanges and bridges must blacklist or freeze stolen funds to prevent further movement.
Comparison with Zero-Knowledge Proofs
Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) Layer 2 solutions, such as zkRollups, offer an alternative approach to scaling that avoids many of the challenges faced by Optimistic Rollups. Unlike Optimistic Rollups, zkRollups use cryptographic validity proofs to ensure all transactions are correct before they are finalized. This eliminates the need for fraud proofs and challenge periods, providing:
Instant Finality: Transactions are finalized as soon as the validity proof is verified on Ethereum, reducing latency and improving user experience.
Stronger Security: zkRollups’ reliance on cryptographic proofs prevents invalid transactions from being included in the first place.
Improved Bridging: By guaranteeing transaction validity upfront, zkRollups enhance the security of cross-chain interactions, making it harder for malicious actors to exploit bridges.
However, zkRollups face their own challenges, such as higher computational costs and complexity in implementation. Additionally, hacked funds present a similar limitation: zkRollups cannot inherently detect the origin of funds, focusing solely on transaction validity. As a result, stolen assets that pass validity checks may still move through the network undetected unless additional mechanisms are implemented.
Despite these hurdles, zkRollups represent a more secure alternative for scenarios where fraud detection and mitigation are critical.
Comparison with Low-Cost Layer 1s
The rise of new low-cost Layer 1 blockchains, such as Sui, Aptos, and Hedera, adds competitive pressure to rollups. These Layer 1s offer high throughput and low fees without the complexity of Layer 2 designs, positioning themselves as attractive alternatives for both developers and users.
Key Advantages of Low-Cost Layer 1s:
Native Simplicity: Unlike rollups, which depend on Ethereum’s infrastructure, low-cost Layer 1s are standalone solutions with streamlined architectures.
No Challenge Periods: Transactions on these chains are finalized more quickly, enhancing user experience compared to rollups with extended challenge windows.
Ecosystem Growth: Many of these Layer 1s actively incentivize development through grants and partnerships, building vibrant dApp ecosystems.
Scalability: Leveraging novel consensus mechanisms or parallel execution, they achieve scalability without reliance on Ethereum’s security.
Challenges for Rollups:
While Optimistic and zkRollups rely on Ethereum’s robust security guarantees, the convenience and simplicity of low-cost Layer 1s make them attractive for certain use cases, such as gaming, social media, and high-frequency trading. For rollups to compete effectively, they must:
Reduce Costs: Lower transaction fees to remain competitive.
Enhance User Experience: Minimize delays associated with fraud proofs and withdrawals.
Strengthen Ecosystems: Build compelling dApps that leverage Ethereum’s broader DeFi and NFT infrastructure.
Implications for Bridges
Bridges are crucial for connecting rollups and other chains, but they inherit the vulnerabilities of both systems:
Cross-Chain Fraud: If funds are bridged out of a rollup before fraud is detected, the destination chain has no obligation to return them.
Delays and User Experience: Challenge periods add latency to withdrawals, potentially discouraging user adoption.
Compliance Overhead: Bridges must adopt mechanisms like blacklists to manage risks, which can increase complexity and regulatory burdens.
Potential Solutions and Mitigations
To address these challenges, rollups and bridges need better preventative and reactive measures:
Enhanced Fraud Detection:
Introduce more efficient incentive structures to reward honest actors for detecting fraud.
Leverage decentralized monitoring tools for real-time fraud detection.
Withdrawal Safeguards:
Implement delays for high-risk transactions to allow for deeper scrutiny.
Require additional validation steps for transactions involving large sums or suspicious patterns.
Collaborative Bridging Standards:
Develop bridges that integrate fraud-proof systems across chains.
Use collateralized bridges to compensate for losses in fraud cases.
Flexible Governance Models:
Establish governance frameworks that can act quickly in emergencies while preserving decentralization.
Encourage community involvement to build consensus around critical interventions.
Conclusion
Optimistic Rollups are a critical step toward scalable, secure blockchain ecosystems, but their reliance on fraud proofs and challenge periods introduces practical limitations. These challenges become even more pronounced in cross-chain contexts, where the integrity of bridges depends on robust monitoring and proactive safeguards. Addressing these issues will require innovation in rollup design, economic incentives, and cross-chain collaboration to ensure a secure and seamless user experience across decentralized networks.
Ethereum restaking technologies are becoming increasingly complex and confusing. Since it’s one of the trending narratives, let’s break it down to understand the differences between the layers and compare the technologies.
Ethereum Native Staking
The first layer is Ethereum native staking. To become a staking validator, you need 32 ETH, a dedicated computer and a strong internet connection. Unlike Proof of Work mining (bitcoin), The hardware does not have to be powerful. The security is guaranteed by the staked 32 ETH. The validator will run specific software and be penalized for downtimes and malicious behavior.
Pooled Staking
If you don’t have 32 ETH, you have the option to delegate your ETH to a trusted validator. The validator will distribute the rewards and retain a commission. Typically, you will need to manually claim your rewards. Your tokens still belong to you since they are locked in a smart contract, and only you can initiate the withdrawal. However, you will need to trust the validator on multiple levels:
You need to trust that the validator’s smart contract is free of bugs and has undergone audits.
You must ensure that the validator will not experience downtime, as your ETH is also at risk of being slashed.
It’s important to note that it usually takes a few days for your tokens to be available after unlocking them.
Liquid Staking (LST)
Liquid staking is an advanced form of pooled staking. Instead of your tokens being locked, they are sent to a common pool within the smart contract. You receive a liquid version of ETH (LST token, for example, eeth), representing your share in the pool. You can unstake at any time by sending your LST back to the smart contract and receiving your original ETH in return. There is a short unlocking period, but if you don’t want to wait, you can swap your LST for ETH on a DEX. The main advantage is that your tokens, although staked, remain liquid. You can reuse them in DEFI.
A commission of the rewards is kept by the protocol, and the rest is sent to the common pool. This means you don’t have to claim your reward and pay network fees; the rewards accrue directly in the value of your LST. Over time, the value of 1 LST becomes greater than 1 ETH. Most LSTs are available on layer 2 networks, which helps you save on network fees.
Mantle Eth: They have a new campaign going on in 3 days!
Restaking (LRT):
Restaking involves reusing the Ethereum validator infrastructure and resources to simultaneously secure new networks. Validators use custom software to secure multiple networks, earning additional yield using the same hardware and power. New decentralized blockchains seeking a stable and secure network for their proof of stake needs can utilize this service for a modest fee, as opposed to establishing their own network of validators from scratch. So we can view restaking as a shared security layer.
By restaking your ETH, you receive a token in return (Liquid restaked token – LRT) and earn additional yield from the new protocols in addition to your native Ethereum restaking. Most LST providers automatically restake your initial staked ETH, allowing you to benefit from restaking advantages. LST providers may collaborate with various restaking providers to optimize your yields.
Top LRT platforms:
EigenLayer Eigenlayer is the first restaking protocol. For now, it only supports the Ethereum mainnet and allows you to restake ETH, most established LSTs as well as its governance token EIGEN.
Symbiotic: Symbiotic is a direct competitor to Eigenlayer. It accepts different tokens as a collateral and offers networks seeking security the choice of different vaults, each vault having its own security strategy. Mellow finance partnered with Lido to create vaults on symbiotic to compete directly with Eigenlayer. If you want to participage in Symbiotic airdrop, you can check Ether.fi’s super symbiotic vault.
Karak is an emerging competitor with strong backing. It supports many chains including Layer2s and a full basket of tokens. You can use the following referal codes (absd6, Egi8A, XNC6A, PXmRT)
Mitosis
Mitosis is neither an LST nor an LRT. This may be confusing because when you deposit your LST (Etherfi eETH), you receive miweETH in return (Mitosis LST). However, Mitosis will not use your LST for restaking (security layer) purposes. Instead, Mitosis functions as a liquidity layer (Ecosystem-owned liquidity). It acts as a vault and seeks out opportunities in DEFI to maximize profits. With substantial liquidity, it can access custom deals that regular users cannot. Additionally, users can participate in governance to vote on future proposals for strategies.
Zircuit
We will talk briefly about Zircuit since it might be confused as and LRT. Zircuit in fact is a Layer2 solution (AI based) and when you restake your LST with Zircuit, it’s for the purpose of securint the Zircuit network.
Risks
Projects are evolving rapidly, with new concepts emerging daily. Protocols are teaming up to stay ahead of the curve and all this might be confusing for the average user. It’s important to consider the risks associated with each project before getting involved. The risk is very real – at the end of the day, you are giving up your ETH for some LST which is nothing but an ERC20 “pegged” to ETH based mostly on trust. While you can unstake and receive your original ETH back, there’s a possibility of a smart contract bug locking your deposit or the value of LST decreasing on the secondary market for various reasons. So if you use your LST in DEFI you might be at risk of liquidation. A lot can go wrong, so conducting thorough research is crucial.
So you missed ZKsync’s airdrop although you made sure to check all the boxes. You bridged from Ethereum’s main net, kept a minimum balance of .005 ETH, interacted with many protocols. You ensured to use paymaster, paid some network fees and got nothing. Without getting too technical, the main criteria for ZKSync was Time Weighted Average Balance. In short what mattered the most is how much you bridged and how long you kept it there. Sounds easy, but who would have guessed! Bridging an extra 100$ and keeping it a a liquidity pool could have made all the difference. Most farmers are discouraged and want to quit crypto farming altogether. This is one of the risks of farming, we put a lot of effort and money with no guarantees in return. Each project is free to choose how to manage its airdrop and we must be ready for everything.
Our option is to find the next project which might have a better distribution and is more promising. Let’s have a look at the upcoming opportunities that are in line.
Zksync ecosystem
Before removing your liquidity from zksync, double check if you have some points in in the ecosystem’s dapps. It might be worth continuing to farm these projects as some of them like Syncswap promised to distribute part (or all) of their ZK token allocation back to their communities.
Zyfi has an active campaign where you can earn points by doing basic activities, like swapping using paymaster and. You can also earn points by interacting with different protocols. It’s easy to track your progress, however there’s no leaderboard so it’s hard to estimate how you’re doing compared to others. Make sure not to push a lot of “spam” transactions and do your own research before using such protocols, the risks are not negligible.
You can also check KZ. KZ is a meme coin that rewards all farmers of zksync that did not qualify for the airdrop. While it’s hard to assess its future value, you can at least see if you qualify for some points already. It is also backed by major players.
Scroll & Linea
Scroll and Linea both have active campaigns that are competing directly with each others. Their goal is to attract the most liquidity to their ecosystem. On Linea, you can earn liquidity experience points LXPL by depositing selected assets on specific platforms. It’s not clear how the LXPL compares with LXP, the basic experience points that you were able to earn in linea park. You can track your progress and compare your metrics with others on a dashboard provided by Openblock. As of today, you can still farm Linea. However, you should be aware that LXPL points will decrease as the campaign advances and it will end when the TVL reaches 3b.
Scroll has a similar program where you earn “sessions” if you provide specific assets. You can track your sessions here. For now, you can earn sessions just by holding assets. Later on, you can earn sessions by providing liquidity and it will be retroactive. It’s important to note that you do not earn sessions anymore for transactions fees, so pushing transactions will not earn you points.
While both projects are comparable to zksync, make sure it’s not too late before jumping in.
Taiko
Taiko’s initial airdrop was somewhat similar to Zksync. A lot of farmers were excluded although they made sure to transact on all the test nets (there were many!) and participated in Galxe quests. However, only the top 300k wallets received an airdrop.
At first, Taiko dismissed the Galxe quests as being simply for educational purposes. However for season 2, they decided to give users retroactive points retroactively for previous Galxe quests. Season 2 is much more structured that season 1 where you had to use many Testnets, never sure how many transactions you should push. In season 2 you can track your points, check the leaderboard and claim your Galxe points.
If you decide to remove your assets from Zksync to Taiko, you can optimize each transaction to qualify for many airdrops at the same time. By using a combination of 0xastra and orbitrer.finance, you can earn points on 0xastra, orbitrer, taiko and KZ depending on the route.
0xastra is a new GameFi experience powered by Orbitrer. You can earn points and complete quests interactively by bridging assets. If you ever used orbitrer, you can claim points on 0xastra retroactively, so it’s a good idea to check them out.
As usual, always do an extensive research before using any projects.
Syscoin is presented as a modular multi role layer “related” to Bitcoin. There’s a lot going on, a lot of modules and a lot of acronyms around Syscoin. Let’s break it down and understand exactly how is it related to Bitcoin, how it compares to other projects and what potential does it have.
What is Syscoin
Syscoin started as a fork of bitcoin, which is a proof of work blockchain. Over the years it has successfully picked many new concepts from the blockchain industry and integrated them to Syscoin in a consistent design. Syscoin has kept its code closely up to date with bitcoin core making sure to integrate new upgrade (ex: taproot). However the difference in the code is non-negligent and the upgrades may not be seamless.
Technologies
Besides sharing the initial code base, the other major relation is that Syscoin is merge mined with bitcoin. Merge mining is a technique that allows miners to efficiently use their computational power to mine multiple cryptocurrencies simultaneously. It enhances the security of auxiliary chains and provides additional rewards to miners without requiring extra resources. It is equivalent to restaking in the Ethereum ecosystem although much different. Merge mining leverages computational power, whereas restaking involves the allocation and reallocation of staked tokens. Syscoin shares the security and difficulty from Bitcoin miners on the Bitcoin network. Syscoin plans to use BTC difficulty to create in a decentralized way a difficulty-based re-staking concept.
We do not view Syscoin as a complete Bitcoin Layer2 yet as data is not exchanged between the blockchains. However, with the new BTC Eigenbridge, it may become possible to transfer assets from and to bitcoin.
While Syscoin is primarily a Layer 1 blockchain with its own base protocol, it incorporates several Layer 2 technologies and features to enhance scalability, speed, and interoperability.
By trying to combine too many concept, Syscoin is evolving into a general purpose blockchain that tries to solve many challenges at the same time. While this offers a lot of options, it can be very confusing and hard to market. We will go over these concepts.
Concepts
Syscoin offers many solutions across several layers. Solutions include micropayments, smart contracts, value bridging, data layer and more. Let’s review them and compare them with other projects.
UTXO chain
the UTXO chain forms the core Layer 1 blockchain, leveraging the same principles as Bitcoin for secure and efficient transaction processing. Syscoin allows for the creation of Syscoin Platform Tokens (SPTs) directly on its blockchain. These tokens can represent various assets and are managed using the UTXO model. Besides SPTs, Syscoin supports ordinals with the Taproot support.
NEVM chain
The NEVM (Network-Enhanced Virtual Machine) chain is a layer-2 solution on top of the UTXOchain. It introduces Ethereum-compatible smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) to the Syscoin platform, enabling developers to build and deploy sophisticated blockchain applications with programmable logic. Assets created on the UTXO chain, such as Syscoin Platform Tokens (SPTs), can interact with smart contracts deployed on the NEVM chain. This integration allows for diverse asset management and advanced use cases that combine the strengths of both chains.
The bridge allows assets created on UTXO to be bridged to the NEVM chain
Z-DAG
Zero Confirmation Directed Acyclic Graph technology in Syscoin is implemented as a Layer 2 solution on top of Syscoin’s Layer 1 blockchain. This structure allows Z-DAG to enhance the performance of Syscoin by enabling high-speed, low-latency transactions while still benefiting from the security and finality provided by the Layer 1. Z-DAG is primarily built on top of Syscoin’s UTXO model, where it enhances transaction processing speed and scalability. While it directly operates on the UTXO layer, the improved transaction efficiency also benefits the NEVM layer, indirectly supporting the performance of smart contracts and dApps on Syscoin. This integrated approach allows Syscoin to offer a robust and scalable blockchain platform that leverages both UTXO and NEVM models. Other projects such as Hedera HashGraph and Kaspa use Z-DAG technology, however, instead of using it as a layer2 solution, it is directly integrated in their core consensus mechanism.
Data layer
The data layer allows users to store arbitrary data on the blockchain, enabling a wide range of applications beyond simple token transfers and asset management. The Syscoin Platform Data layer is implemented on top of the UTXO chain, leveraging the security and immutability of the underlying blockchain. It can also be utilized in conjunction with the NEVM (Network-Enhanced Virtual Machine) layer. Smart contracts deployed on the NEVM chain can interact with data stored on the UTXO chain.
Rollux
Rollux is and OP Stack that serve as layer-2 scaling solutions in the Syscoin ecosystem, positioned between the UTXO and NEVM layers. By aggregating transactions off-chain and submitting aggregated transactions to the UTXO chain, rollups enhance scalability, reduce fees, and improve the efficiency of smart contract execution within the Syscoin network. It is important to note that Syscoin’s rollux offer both Optimistic rollups and zk-rollups approaches. Assets can be transferred between rollux and NEVM through a bridge.
How does Syscoin compare to Stacks
Syscoin and Stacks are blockchain platforms that enhance the capabilities of Bitcoin and Ethereum in unique ways. Syscoin leverages Bitcoin’s security through merge mining while incorporating Ethereum-compatible smart contracts and Layer 2 solutions like Z-DAG and zk-Rollups for scalability and fast transactions. It also features a bridge for interoperability with Ethereum. In contrast, Stacks operates as a Layer 1 blockchain that anchors its transactions to Bitcoin, using a unique consensus mechanism called Proof of Transfer (PoX). Stacks integrates directly with Bitcoin to provide smart contract functionality and rewards STX holders with Bitcoin through its stacking mechanism. Both platforms aim to combine the security of Bitcoin with advanced blockchain functionalities but employ different approaches to achieve their goals.
Stacks has gained more rapid and widespread adoption, particularly due to its innovative approach of leveraging Bitcoin’s security and introducing smart contracts. However, Syscoin’s longer history and solid integration with both Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems also make it a notable player. The choice between the two often depends on the specific needs and interests of the developers and users involved.
In terms of numbers, as of the time of writing, Stacks has a fully diluted market cap of 4.1b compared to 0.13b for Syscoin. Stacks has a TVL of 127M compared to almost no TVL on Syscoin. Overall, Stacks appears to have more widespread adoption and usage in terms of both protocol and third-party applications.
Overall, Syscoin is a promising technology, but it has yet to be battle-tested and seems to be more focused on improving its technology than growing its ecosystem.
In this article we will go over the fees for bridging your assets from one L2 chain to another. We will use the owlto bridge, which is offering a discount for now.
We will transfer some USDC from Mantle to Scroll networks. Using owlto is straightforward, you select the asset you want to transfer and choose the source and destination chain:
On the next step you can verify the details:
We can see that the bridge fee if free for now, but there’s a destination cost of 1.5 USDC.
Once we Confirm and send, we have to pay the gas fees on the Mantle network in MNT:
Don’t rely on the values shown in metamask for now because the final gas fee will be much higher. Probably there’s a UI error or the real price of MNT in metamask is not accurate. Also, metamask shows the gas price on L2, but does not show the actual transaction fee.
Once the transaction is complete, owlto provides us with the transaction links on the mantle scanner and scroll scanner. We can check the details over there to get the exact fees:
On Mantle:
On Scroll:
So in total here’s how much it costs:
0.1287 MNT
1.5 USDC
0.0001437 ETH
At today’s price it’s around 1.99 $ in total fees. It’s acceptable for the amount transferred, but if we want to transfer a smaller amount, the fee is roughly the same, so you will have to see if it’s worth it. In the future, the platform will start charging a bridging fee so that’s something to consider too. Also we have to take notice that these fees will vary depending on each network’s congestion.
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The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
