Etherlink ¹

What is Etherlink?

The only EVM rollup on Tezos, using XTZ for gas. Cheap and fast but isolated from mainstream EVM liquidity. The key difference: Built directly into Tezos protocol ("enshrined") rather than external, with fraud proofs settled by Tezos validators instead of Ethereum.

Best for: Projects already in Tezos ecosystem wanting EVM compatibility, apps needing sub-cent transaction costs.

Technical: Smart Rollup on Tezos with fraud proofs, XTZ as native token, sub-second confirmations with 16-second finality.

• Security & Data Availability

  • Settles on Tezos L1 using fraud proofs and commitment publishing.
  • Finality in 2 Tezos blocks (16 seconds after Quebec upgrade).
  • Permissionless: anyone can run a node and challenge invalid state.

• Infra & Execution

  • Built with Tezos Smart Rollup framework, enshrined in protocol.
  • Standard EVM with some RPC differences due to Tezos backend.
  • Uses XTZ for gas instead of ETH.

• Performance

  • Sub-second soft confirmations.
  • Very low fees (sub-cent transactions).
  • Calypso upgrade improved contract processing speed significantly.

• Use Cases

  • DeFi: IguanaDEX (concentrated liquidity DEX), SuperLend (lending), Curve deployment
  • Gaming: BattleRise, Bit Hotel, UPvsDOWN, Degeneratives
  • Incentives: Apple Farm program boosted TVL from low millions to peak near $50M
  • Bridges: LayerZero and Stargate for cross-chain connectivity

• Trade-offs

  • Isolated from Ethereum L2 ecosystem — bridges required for ETH assets.
  • Limited tooling support compared to Ethereum-based L2s.
  • Smaller ecosystem despite incentive programs.
  • WebSocket support limited, requiring polling for subscriptions.

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