Switcheo Labs, a think tank supporting decentralized ecosystems in DeFi, has successfully deployed the mainnet for ZilBridge, a cross-chain interoperability bridge built on Zilliqa, a high-performance blockchain platform.
Users of ZilBridge will be able to bridge WBTC, ETH, and USDT assets between the Zilliqa and Ethereum blockchains, and provide liquidity for and trade those assets on ZilSwap, Zilliqa’s own decentralized exchange. Over time, Zilliqa will be working with Switcheo to accommodate additional assets for cross-chain transfers.
The bridge has also been standardized for cross-chain services with Poly Network, whose suite of services, such as cross-chain asset transfer, swap, and NFT cross-chain services will help attract more users and developers to the Zilliqa ecosystem.
“To achieve true DeFi, blockchains can no longer operate in silos,” Zilliqa president and chief science officer Amrit Kumar said. “Given how critical it is to build user-friendly, low-barrier interfaces, cross-chain ecosystems are quickly becoming the norm. The deployment of this interoperability system on our protocol by our long-term ecosystem partner Switcheo will truly change the game for our users. Once the bridge goes live, we expect further uptick on network activity and total volume locked into our DeFi protocols in coming months.”
With ZilBridge, millions of users will be able to benefit from a more enriched smart contract ecosystem across both Zilliqa and Ethereum. Ethereum token holders and developers alike will be able to access Zilliqa’s gas fees by transferring existing dApps into Zilliqa. Zilliqa’s transaction throughput is designed to accommodate complex smart contracts without compromising on speed, performance, and security. Developers will also benefit from a greater pool of resources while also being able to build cross-chain logic in their Scilla smart contracts in order to integrate them with Ethereum smart contracts.
“The ZilBridge is a monumental step forward in cross-chain interoperability for the Zilliqa ecosystem,” Switcheo CEO Ivan Poon said. “As long-standing partners of Zilliqa, Switcheo is committed to supporting Zilliqa’s push for decentralisation with key infrastructure that powers DeFi applications such as the ZilBridge. With a common goal in enabling open finance and accessible markets, we look forward to even more collaborations down the road.”
Starting Oct. 6, Zilliqa will offer “Lightning Liquidity Mining Rewards” worth $3.75 million over six weeks as an added incentive scheme for all potential liquidity providers, who can earn $ZIL and $ZWAP rewards by using the wBTC-ZIL, wETH-ZIL, and USDT-ZIL pools. By Oct. 13, eligible liquidity providers will receive both their $ZWAP and $ZIL rewards.
