zkSync Era Mainnet Alpha: Early Projects | TKX Weekly

6 min readApr 9

Intro

The zkSync Era mainnet alpha has been making waves since its launch on March 24th, with an impressive total value locked (TVL) of $77 million in just two short weeks. Syncswap, the decentralized exchange (DEX), accounts for almost half of the TVL. As the ecosystem continues to mature, the opportunities for projects on zkSync are limitless. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of the early projects on this promising network, and explore the potential for growth and innovation in the coming months and years.

Syncswap — DEX

Twitter: https://twitter.com/syncswap

SyncSwap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that operates on the zkSync Era platform, aiming to provide users with a seamless and efficient trading experience. This platform utilizes zkSync technology to offer a cost-effective and user-friendly solution for accessing decentralized finance (DeFi) and to facilitate the mass adoption of Ethereum. SyncSwap offers UniV2 pools and stable pools, aiming to become the core liquidity on zkSync.

ZigZag — Orderbook

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZigZagExchange

ZigZag Exchange is an order book-based decentralized exchange (DEX) that has recently announced its plans to go live on the zkSync Era platform upon its launch. This comes after the successful launch of ZigZag on zkSync Lite (formerly known as zkSync 1.0) in November 2021, which makes ZigZag one of the oldest dApps on zkSync.

Derivio — Perpetual

Twitter: https://twitter.com/derivio_xyz

Derivio is a decentralized ecosystem for structured derivatives that allows traders to utilize smart leverage synthetic derivatives and provides deep liquidity pools for effective cryptocurrency hedging. Unlike GMX, Derivio offers two types of LP asset exposures and aims to provide delta-neutral LPs through the dynamic funding rate.

rhino.fi — Aggregator

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rhinofi

rhino.fi is a multi-chain platform that seamlessly connects users to the top DeFi opportunities in one location. The platform provides trading, investment, exchange, and bridging functions and supports four public chains: Ethereum, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, and Polygon zkEVM.

Mute — DEX

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mute_io

Mute is a DeFi platform that strives to establish a liquidity hub for all protocols based on zkSync. It functions as an AMM DEX and includes features like limit orders, farming and bond platforms. Mute offers a solution for zkSync protocols to effectively incentivize liquidity for their specific use cases.

Onchain Trade — DEX

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OnchainTrade

Onchain Trade (OT) is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that facilitates the trading of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. It is based on Arbitrum and zkSync and offers leverage of up to 100x. The platform allows users to trade, borrow, provide liquidity, and earn transaction fees. Unlike other automated market makers (AMMs), OT allows for single-sided liquidity provision and can also serve as a lending protocol.

Nexon Finance — Lending

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NexonFi

Nexon Finance is the first decentralized lending protocol on zkSync, allowing for more efficient lending and borrowing of crypto assets than any existing solutions on the market.

Increment — Perpetual

Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncrementHQ

Increment is a DeFi protocol built on zkSync that leverages collateral-backed pooled virtual assets for liquidity, and Curve V2’s AMM for trade execution. The platform offers automatically concentrated liquidity, dynamic fees, and customizable pools that can be adjusted through various parameters.

SpaceFi — Platform

Twitter: https://twitter.com/spacefi_io

SpaceFi is a cross-chain DeFi platform that runs on Evmos and zkSync, providing a range of products such as a DEX, NFT marketplace, Starter, and Spacebase. The platform aims to establish a bridge between the Cosmos and Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystems, promoting interoperability solutions and enabling cross-chain asset exploration as a long-term objective.

UniDex — Aggregator

Twitter: https://twitter.com/UniDexFinance

UniDex is a DeFi aggregator that strives to offer a comprehensive platform for traders to access the most favorable rates for a variety of financial instruments within the ecosystem, such as swaps, derivatives, and leverage trading.

ZKEX — Orderbook

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZKEX_Official

ZKEX is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that facilitates multi-chain trading without requiring bridges, promoting greater security and self-custody. Utilizing zero-knowledge proof technology, ZKEX offers CeFi-level performance and a trustless order book system, providing enhanced transparency and trustlessness to its users.

Velocore — DEX

Twitter: https://twitter.com/velocorexyz

Velocore is a ve(3,3) DEX operating on the zkSync ecosystem that incentivizes liquidity providers. Focused on growth and innovation, Velocore intends to expand its offerings to encompass a lending market and provide support for other builders, facilitating the development of potent DeFi tools on zkSync and making the ecosystem more comprehensive.

Trustless—Synthetic Asset

Twitter: https://twitter.com/trustlessfi

Trustless Currency Protocol is a decentralized lending protocol that places a premium on trustlessness and community ownership. It enables users to lock ETH collateral and borrow Hue, a token with a target price derived from the median price of a basket of assets.

Fringe Finance — Lending

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fringefinance

Fringe Finance is a decentralized money market that facilitates lending and borrowing of crypto assets across various networks and market caps.

MES Protocol — Orderbook

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MESprotocol

MES Protocol is a high-performance, order book-based DEX that provides a seamless user experience similar to traditional exchanges while remaining fully decentralized and permissionless.

Overnight Finance — Yield Aggregator

Twitter: https://twitter.com/overnight_fi

Overnight Finance is a DeFi protocol that offers passive yield products based on delta-neutral strategies, designed for stablecoin investors who prefer conservative investment options.

GemSwap — DEX

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GemSwap_ZKS

GemSwap is a one-stop platform for the crypto community, running on the ZkSync Era Network. Its mission is to provide a seamless and user-friendly experience for trading and swapping cryptocurrencies, all in one place.

Mint Square — NFT Trading

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MintSquareNFT

Mint Square is a platform that allows for fast and affordable NFT trading on both StarkNet and zkSync Era.

Kreatorland—NFT Launchpad

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kreatorland

Kreatorland is a team dedicated to creating an NFT Launchpad and Marketplace on zkSync. The platform allows artists, designers, and creators to easily launch, create, own, and trade their digital assets in a user-friendly Click-Launch-List format.