ZetaChain is the first “omnichain” layer1 blockchain. Applications deployed on ZetaChain can access most of crypto chains. Instead of deploying an application on every chain, developers can now deploy on ZetaChain and target any blockchain. This simplifies the interoperability and messaging between chains. This also helps the development of smart contracts on a blockchain that does not support them natively, like dogecoin.
In short, ZetaChain is a full blockchain that can tap into any blockchain, bridge and transfer assets between blockchains.
Zeta coin
Unlike other emerging layer 2 solutions for Ethereum, Zetachain has its own utility token. Zeta token is used to pay for transaction fees. This keeps gas fees relatively cheap on Zetachain and removes any dependance on Ethereum.
However, if an interaction with another chain has to be done, that part of the interaction has to be be paid in the native token. More information about the fees could be found on that page.
To facilitate the payment of transaction in the native tokens, ZetaChain uses core liquidiy pools. Anyone can contribute to the pools and earn fees.
How it works
ZetaChain is a Proof-of-Stake blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK and Tendermint Consensus. In order for ZetaChain to be able to interact with many blockchains, it needs to have an account on each chain. ZetaChain smart contract layer orchestrates the logic and if an interaction with an external blockchain has to be done, it will be done through this privileged account. This account can custody assets on that chain, mint tokens, burn and NFT to transfer it, etc… The concept is simple, however this has to be done in a decentralized manner without a single point of failure. For example, if any validator has access to the private keys of this account, it has full access to the assets and can compromise them.
To counter this, ZetaChain uses a multi-party threshold signature. In short, the private key is generated without a dealer and it is distributed in all the validators. So no validator can reconstitute the full private key and use it independently. So the generation of the key and the signing procedures are done by Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and no secrets are revealed to any participating node.
Risks
ZetaChain is a new blockchain that is still not battle tested. An extensive research should be done before investing in the platform.
Airdrop
ZetaChain is conducting a second round of its token airdrop. To participate, in the airdrop, you can complete simple tasks on ZetaHub and earn experience points that could make you eligible.
Where to get ZETA
Many centralized exchange offer ZETA coin. The token is available on MEXC. As of today, the cost of withdrawing ZETA from MEXC is 0.1 ZETA, which is reasonable. If you need to transfer the token on chain to experiment with the blockchain, make sure you withdraw on the ZETA network and that your offline wallet supports the ZETA chain. Only withdraw the ERC20 ZETA on the Ethereum network if you need it on that chain for some, however, this could be costly.
Ethereum staking is the process of participating in the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism of the Ethereum blockchain. Staking became possible since the blockchain transitioned from proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake as part of Ethereum 2.0 upgrade.
In a proof-of-stake system, validators are chosen to create new blocks and validate transactions based on the number of coins they stake as collateral. Validators have a financial interest in the correct validation of transactions, as they risk losing their staked funds if they act maliciously.
Users can participate by becoming validators or by delegating their coins to existing validators. In return for their participation, validators and delegators may receive rewards in the form of additional cryptocurrency.
Liquid staking
Liquid staking makes the process of staking more flexible. Instead of locking their funds, users obtain staking tokens indicating their staked position. Because these coins are not locked up for a predetermined amount of time, they can be exchanged on different platforms. They can also be utilized in other decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. By using liquid staking, users can maintain their liquidity without having to wait for a set amount of time for the unstaking period to end. However this may include more levels of complexity and hazards, despite its flexibility.
Liquid staked tokens are most of the time reward bearing token. So native rewards that are generated from staking are captured by the protocol and reflected in the price of the token. However, liquid staking offers generally less rewards compared to native staking.
Restaking
Restaking is a new concept that lets users restake their staked ETH to secure new protocols. In other words, Ethereum’s secure network can be reused or rented to power new projects. Because of the extra utility of the tokens, the advantage for restakers is additionnal yields.
Risks
There’s a lot of risks in staking, so you will have to do a deep research. Here’s a short list:
Slashing Risk: Validators may be subject to penalties, including the potential loss of staked funds, if they behave maliciously or fail to follow network rule.
Network Security: Malicious actors could attempt to compromise the network’s security
Market Volatility: The value of the staked cryptocurrency may fluctuate with market conditions
Bugs or vulnerabilities in the protocol
For liquid staking:
Smart Contract Risks: The code for interacting with liquid staking could contain vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers.
Liquidity Risks: Liquidity in the secondary market for liquid staking tokens may be lower than for the native staked tokens, leading to potential challenges in buying or selling these tokens.
Custodial Risks if applicable
Protocol Upgrades
How to stake your ETH
Staking your ETH on Ethereum’s main network can be expensive depending of gas fees. We will look at different ways to stake your Ethereum and cheaper alternatives.
Ether.fi
Ether.fi is a leading liquid staking platform. What makes ether.fi stand out is that they will natively restake your liquid staked tokens on EigenLayer in the background, which will provide you with additional rewards.
The staking process is simple, you can even provide stETH or cbETH (staked tokens with other platforms):
For now, ether.fi is only available on the Ethereum mainnet, so staking a small amount could not be profitable considering the gas fees.
As of today, staking with ether.fi gives you points for ether.fi and Eigenlayer. These loyalty points could be eligible for a future airdrop by both platforms.
Renzo Protocol
Renzo protocol is similar to ether.fi. It uses Figment as a validator and it will enable restaking for additional yields.
However, Renzo now supports Arbitrum and Binance chain. Staking your ETH on these chains is much more affordable.
Renzo also offers Eigenlayer loyalty points as well as its own Renzo ezPoints for possible future airdrops.
Kelp DAO
KelpDAO is a similar platform that offers Eigenlayer points and its own loyalty points as well. For now it’s only available on Ethereum mainnet.
Pendle Finance
Pendle.finance offers a diverse way to get exposure for ethereum restaking and for the different loyalty points exposure. It also offers these programs on the Ethereum mainnet as well as Arbitrum:
Here are the programs for Arbitrum network:
Pendle.finance offers a multiplier for the points and for each program it offers 3 ways of getting involved:
Purchase YT: Basically you are purchasing the points and giving up your deposit. The downside is that when you “purchase” the points you don’t know exactly how much they are worth.
Provide liquidity to the pool: This will help you to retains most points and earn additional revenue from the pool swapping fees. However, you have additional risk of impermanent loss.
Purchase PT: By purchasing PT, you give up on the points you are eligible to for a fixed yield. The downside is that the points might make you eligible for an an airdrop that is worth more than the yield.
As we can see, pendle offers many options, each with its own risk/reward level.
In our last article, we talked about Rainbow wallet, which is a good alternative to metamask. In this article, we will talk about Rabby wallet, another solid alternative to metamask.
Rabby wallet is an open source crypto wallet built by DeBank. DeBank is a Web3 messenger that lets you send and receive messages to a Web3 address. Debank offers a powerful dashboard that gives you a summary of your assets and investments. You will be able to find all the liquidity pools that you contributed to on many chains. That is very helpful in case we lost track to which pools and protocols we have already deposited to. DeBank also flags the scam transactions in your transaction history. We can’t prevent our wallet from receiving scam transactions for now, so it’s very important to understand them and not to fall to the promising scam NFT we keep receiving:
Rabby wallet offers a seamless multi-chain experience for DeFi users. It uses a pre-transaction potential risk scanning to prevent you of any risk and before you sign a transaction, the balance change will be displayed.
Rabby offers a points system that rewards users for different actions like swapping through the wallet. You can use this code RBYPOINTS to boost your points.
Once you install the wallet, you can connect your hardware wallet, create a new wallet or import an existing one. After the initial setup, you can claim your rabby badge from debank by clicking on the More icon:
And claim your badge:
There are a few steps to complete, essentially making a swap transaction:
Once completed, you can claim DeBank testnet tokens:
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