Introducing Gateway: a unified entrance for building universal applications based on ZetaChain

TL;DR:

Gateway simplifies the development experience of cross-chain universal applications and enables native operations on blockchain networks including Bitcoin. Welcome to explore Gateway and start your construction journey!

ZetaChain's mission is to build a universal blockchain with native blockchain access capabilities, making encryption technology as open, diverse and interconnected as the Internet. Today, we are pleased to announce a major upgrade to the developer experience for universal applications through Gateway - a new interactive interface that will greatly advance ZetaChain's vision of becoming a unified portal to the decentralized world.

Key takeaways

• Seamless cross-chain access: Applications on the universal EVM (i.e. universal applications ) can seamlessly access any blockchain network including the Bitcoin network. Users do not need to switch networks to achieve direct link access.
• Simplifying cross-chain interaction: Gateway introduces a unified central hub and a single API, simplifying the complex cross-chain interaction capabilities of general applications, and achieving effective management between external link contracts and assets in user EOA accounts.
• Progress of new ecological applications: ZetaChain officials are actively supporting the development of new ecological applications, such as general income yield and DEX aggregator. They can use Gateway to simplify complex multi-step operations into a single click operation on the user side, for example: one operation. Implement operations such as “accept native BTC as collateral on ZetaChain, lend USDC on multiple blockchain networks, transfer funds to cross-chain income opportunities, and collect all rewards into user accounts.”
• New standard support: Gateway supports new native network standards such as universal NFTs and universal Tokens , empowers creators to issue cross-chain transferable tokens, and supports the management of cross-chain liquidity on a single platform without going through the ZRC-20 protocol whitelist process. deal with.
• Cross-chain innovation: Upcoming upgrades include support for SPL Token’s Solana network integration, which will make ZetaChain “the first to support cross-chain operations of the three major blockchain networks (Solana, Bitcoin, Ethereum) in a holistically simplified manner L1 public chain".

Build universal applications to reach users across the world

The universal application on ZetaChain EVM is not limited to a single blockchain network, it can perform seamless cross-chain operation on any blockchain network. Unlike conventional smart contracts that only work on their own chain, universal applications can handle contract calls, messages and token transfers from any chain, and can even initiate corresponding operations on these chains.

For developers, this means universal applications that allow them to orchestrate complex multi-step transactions across different chains and be triggered by a single user action without having to switch between multiple interfaces or deal with different blockchain protocols. In this way, the ZetaChain platform provides developers with tools to automate cross-chain interactions, allowing them to focus on the development of the core functions of the application, and provides end users with an on-chain abstract operation experience that is close to "one-stop execution of all operations."

Gateway unifies developer and user experience

The Gateway upgrade introduces a unified cross-chain interface - an independent universal portal for developers and users to interact with universal applications on any blockchain.

Advantages for developers: Simplified, extensible framework

1. Unified API interface: Gateway minimizes complex operations through a unified API, and abstracts the characteristics and protocol details of some blockchain networks.

2. Standardized interaction: Each blockchain network has a designated Gateway contract or equivalent entity (such as the Gateway program on Solana or the address on Bitcoin), which provides a standardized method of depositing Tokens and interacting with common applications.

3. Universal button for cross-chain calls: With Gateway, on-chain interaction is as simple as pressing a button. For example, a single user transaction can trigger a universal application on ZetaChain, helping them exchange BNB for ETH and then purchase NFTs on Ethereum, all in one step.

Advantages for users: unified on-chain experience

With Gateway, users can achieve cross-chain interaction in a single transaction without switching networks. From their preferred blockchain network such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, users can access universal applications without the need to connect multiple wallets or use cross-chain bridges. This seamless integration effectively reduces cross-chain fees and enhances Operational security and a unified experience across all supported chains.

Gateway improves cross-chain infrastructure on ZetaChain

In the past, developers needed to manage independent TSS addresses, ERC-20 custody contracts, and connector contracts to achieve cross-chain functionality; now, Gateway unifies these components into a single powerful API interface to provide calls, deposits, and asset management. A clear and consistent approach. This unified approach not only simplifies the development process but also improves the reliability of cross-chain transactions. In addition, the Gateway interface deployed on ZetaChain can be mirrored on other EVM-compatible chains, providing a unified development and user experience on multiple blockchain platforms.

Gateway allows universal applications to manage global assets

Through Gateway, universal applications can now implement complex interactions with smart contracts and assets connected on external blockchain networks on behalf of users. Gateway achieves this goal by completing the extension of general smart contracts through "withdrawAndCall" (an extension of ZRC-20 's extraction function). Developers can initiate contract call operations without asset transfer or data load, and enjoy benefits such as built-in rollback support.

Users can now seamlessly access and interact with multiple on-chain applications. In other words, Gateway enables an application to realize cross-chain operations of blockchain network aggregation and optimization functions by only interacting once with the dApp on ZetaChain on behalf of the end user. Using Gateway's apps helps users avoid having to switch networks or sign additional transactions.

Gateway enables new standards

The Gateway upgrade enables a new common standard for chain abstraction.

Universal NFT

The universal NFT standard on ZetaChain allows developers to create ERC-721 NFTs that run smoothly on multiple blockchain networks. The standard simplifies the cross-chain interaction process, allowing users and developers to directly access and Transfer NFTs.

Projects built using universal NFT include: Web3 game projects Eureka and Moddio - the social game Eureka built on the Web allows players to withdraw in-game assets such as gold currency, ships, and survival by casting tradable NFT on any chain. items and other supplies. Likewise, virtual world creation project Moddio will provide universal NFT functionality support for developers building on its platform.

See the YouTube video for a general NFT creation tutorial .

Universal Token Standard

The universal token standard will provide a more flexible and permissionless alternative to the ZRC-20 mechanism for creating tokens that can be transferred seamlessly across chains.

Specifically, the ZRC-20 mechanism relies on the "lock-release model" and requires assets to be included in the protocol whitelist before they can be used across chains. For a native mature asset like BTC, this is significant as it allows users to introduce it into the multi-asset ZetaChain environment.

In contrast, the universal token standard allows developers to define their own token logic (such as minting, destruction, transfer) without permission and meet their specific cross-chain transfer needs. This approach eliminates protocol-level whitelisting and empowers developers to create cross-chain tokens without relying on governance or pre-approved lists.

The Universal Token Standard is a new way to bring native interoperability to token issuance, expanding the scope of Web3 use cases, and all its cross-chain development experiences are supported by Gateway.

New universal apps enabled by Gateway

The Gateway upgrade makes it possible to develop a new generation of cross-chain applications that were previously impossible.

Universal Dust aggregator

Dust aggregator is an eye-catching application brought by the ZetaChain Gateway upgrade. It solves the problem of small tokens that are scattered on multiple blockchains and have no usage scenarios. The DUst aggregator is able to consolidate DUST tokens into a single more valuable asset on the chain of the user’s choice. Using ZetaChain's Gateway and other technologies, native cross-chain exchanges and token transfers can be seamlessly executed in a single transaction. Its near-atomic rollback processing and gas optimization in unlocking dormant assets effectively improve the usability and efficiency of DeFi. Operational efficiency.

Universal revenue aggregator

Amana is a project designed to simplify the decentralized and complex cross-chain revenue mining process and achieve universal revenue aggregation. With the on-chain native contract link calling function enabled by Gateway, the application allows users to deposit assets from a certain blockchain network and automatically allocate them to liquidity mining projects on multiple blockchain networks.

For example, a universal application on ZetaChain can transfer ETH on Ethereum to a lending protocol on the Base chain on behalf of a user, and can also perform other cross-chain interactions, such as claiming rewards on Binance and moving them to high-yield applications. , and then return these rewards to ZetaChain users. For more information, see the project official website .

Universal DEX

Eddy Finance and the recently launched ve(3,3) project Beam DEX have implemented native cross-chain exchange using universal smart contracts , including support for native BTC tokens. Through the new universal token standard and Gateway-enabled blockchain-native contract calls, these DEXs can easily support new asset transaction routing that connects on-chain applications.

For example, a universal DEX could add support for CBTC on Aerodrome Finance (the leading DEX on the Base Network) and enable users to trade it with ETH on Ethereum through a series of multi-step cross-chain transactions. Gateway handles all cross-chain interactions in the background, so applications can directly consume the output of cross-chain exchanges and drive further operations, all through a single, easy-to-use user interface.

Visit the Eddy Finance and Beam DEX official websites for more information.

Looking ahead to Solana integration and new upgrades

Development is ramping up to extend Gateway to new networks such as Solana, and the integration will first support depositing SPL Tokens as ZRC-20 Tokens on ZetaChain. With the [withdrawAndCall] function already open on the EVM chain, universal applications will eventually be able to interact with Solana’s native smart contracts and manage rollback workflows, thereby expanding ZetaChain’s cross-chain capabilities.

Further optimizations will include Gateway support for new asset types and improved account abstraction to simplify authentication calls. The benefit of these improvements for users is that they can easily perform any on-chain operation (such as transferring tokens, purchasing NFTs, etc.) on their preferred wallet and blockchain with one click.

We look forward to sharing more progress with you during the development of Gateway and ZetaChain. We will also continue to build a universal blockchain that can be connected to any blockchain network, and are committed to providing a seamless user experience for the next generation of billions of users. and uniform mobility.

About ZetaChain

ZetaChain is the first general-purpose blockchain with native access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and other blockchains, and is committed to providing a seamless user experience and unified liquidity for billions of future users. Through its universal EVM, ZetaChain empowers developers to build universal applications that run natively across chains, creating a smooth-running crypto ecosystem starting from a single platform.

See the ZetaChain official account @zetablockchain , and you can also join the official Discord and Telegram related discussions. If you are creating a related project based on ZetaChain, you can contact us at partnerships@zetachain.com.

Note: Any projects mentioned in the article are third-party projects and have nothing to do with ZetaChain.