By
Anisha Pandey
June 5th, 2024
The Tethys upgrade will bring along a number of new features such as having an enhanced bridge between Cronos zkEVM Testnet and the Ethereum’s Sepolia Testnet.
Leading blockchain ecosystem Cronos recently announced that they have upgraded the zkEVM testnet to its latest release dubbed Tethys, moving a step closer to its mainnet launch.
The Tethys upgrade builds atop the zkSync’s v24 release, which helped in transitioning zkSync Era from a standalone blockchain to one of several ZK Chains within the zkSync ecosystem. This technology will now be available to take further Cronos zkEVM’s mission of building a highly scalable network for mainstream adoption. Speaking on the development, Ken Timsit, Head of Cronos Labs, said:
“Tethys brings us closer to the full release of the Cronos zkEVM and showcases the qualities that make zero-knowledge networks so versatile. Features such as reduced transaction fees, better developer tooling, and easier upgradability demonstrate that the Cronos ecosystem remains at the forefront of blockchain innovation.”
To launch the Tethys upgrade using ZK Stack, Cronos Labs has partnered with Crypto.com, Matter Labs, Fulcrom Finance, VVS Finance, and Veno Finance. The Tethys upgrade will bring along a number of new features such as having an enhanced bridge between Cronos zkEVM Testnet and the Ethereum’s Sepolia Testnet.
This bridge would help in connecting all ZK chains. It would also facilitate cheaper transaction fees by storing the transaction data in Validium configuration.
Boosting the Tethys Adoption
Cronos would accelerate the Tethys testnet adoption by announcing a series of quests that are open to the community. Moreover, users completing simple tasks on the Tethys testnet can provide valuable feedback and would get an additional opportunity to join the upcoming Cronos zkEVM user reward program.
In the forthcoming upgrades, Tethy’s would introduce features such as an optimized gas price adjuster. They would also provide the ability to bridge crypto assets from Cronos zkEVM to Ethereum without holding any CRO on Ethereum. Daniel Lumi, Senior Product Manager of ZK Stack at Matter Labs said:
“Cronos has an impressive track record of building a diverse ecosystem along with impressive on-chain financial value and user acquisition. They will inevitably become one of the great use cases for ZK Chains, so we’re excited to see Cronos zkEVM complete this final milestone before mainnet. With Tethys testnet, users can experience the speed, throughput, and low fee environment that will make the Cronos zkEVM capable of supporting a diverse range of use cases and applications.”
Cronos ranks among the top 15 global blockchain platforms with over $6 billion in user assets. Since its inception, the Cronos blockchain has settled over 100 million transactions.