ZERO

an L0 for non-EVM, powered by FROST

For anyone active in the space, we have seen the landscape change rapidly as events have unfolded. The L0 ecosystem has seen fewer options for trustless bridging and the void left behind due to this upheaval are noticeable to say the least.

The engineering force at zeroDAO has been working to bring the world a new cross-chain framework, built from the ground up, starting with the same p2p software components that allowed the original zeroBRIDGE application to facilitate hundreds of BTC in cross-chain trade over this past incredible year.

For bridging useful non-EVM assets such as BTC, ZEC, and XMR, and trading it to assets such as ETH or USDC, a solution is desperately needed now more than ever. ZERO has been designed to bring cross-chain to a higher standard than ever before, to blur the lines between networks and provide the focal point in decentralized trade as we know it.

The ZERO network

The release of the new ZERO network, as well as the ZERO network token (ERC20), is approaching. Signing groups responsible for locking or releasing non-EVM assets such as BTC, associated with a cross-chain message, will make use of the FROST multiparty cryptosystem, implemented in Rust and built to WASM. The FROST secp256k1 implementation we've developed internally works with taproot addresses as they exist on the BTC network. Our Solidity implementation of Schnorr signature recovery for signatures produced by the ZERO network is now, also, fully functional.

Project repositories have been published to:

https://github.com/zerodao-finance/frost-taproot

https://github.com/zerodao-finance/frost-taproot-wasm

https://github.com/zerodao-finance/solidity-frost-taproot-recover

The ZERO network wire protocol is designed for space-efficiency as well as portability. Transactions and unsettled cross-chain messages on the ZERO network propagate using sketches to reconcile set differences. A WASM build of the minisketch implementation of the PinSketch algorithm, originally designed to improve the network performance of BCH, is included with the ZERO nodes, and is now published on GitHub at:

https://github.com/zerodao-finance/libminisketch-wasm

Economics

The economics behind classic solutions in cross-chain messaging have not supported a truly decentralized model, therefore the lessons we've learned through the short history of L0 have been built into ZERO. Assets bridged onto EVM networks using ZERO will use a collateralization/staking model slightly different from pre-existing networks. The ZERO token itself can be staked to earn passive revenue from cross-chain bridging and trade, and the token will function as a backstop for liquidation events, but only a portion of the collateral backing bridged assets will be ZERO. Stakers can also bring rETH/stETH to earn complimentary yield.

In addition to the inclusion of less volatile collateral, an economic incentive for burning bridged assets back to their native chain via ZERO will exist such that arbitrageurs can extract MEV and improve market health. With less capital locked in wrapped assets, we reduce the strict collateral requirement and lower stakers' exposure to risk.

Stay tuned for updates as we approach launch of ZERO!

Contact Us

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