Tldr; Across has launched on Scroll, one of the leading zkEVM chains working to scale Ethereum. Across’ intents-based architecture will let cross-chain users seamlessly move to and from Scroll, which in turn means improved flexibility and accessibility for the Scroll ecosystem.
Key takeaways:
Across has deployed on Scroll, one of the leading zkEVM chains in the ecosystem.
The move expands Across’ presence on Layer 2. It also makes Scroll more interoperable with the wider ecosystem.
Across believes that intents will be a crucial unlock for interoperability in the Ethereum ecosystem and Scroll is the latest major project to support this vision.
Ethereum’s Layer 2 era is here and the ecosystem is becoming more and more interoperable. While shared developer stacks and blobs have prompted an explosion of new chains, Across has improved interoperability throughout the ecosystem with intents.
Across adopts an intents-based architecture to fulfill users’ cross-chain needs. This design choice has proven to be extremely effective and many chains have benefited from the power of intents as Across has expanded its Layer 2 presence.
Now, another of the Layer 2 ecosystem’s most promising projects is set to enjoy the benefits of intents-powered interop as Across heads to Scroll. Part of a rising crop of zkEVM chains, Scroll focuses on offering users a secure, high-speed, low-cost environment with full EVM compatibility.
While the Layer 2 boom kicked off in earnest in 2024, the ZK era is still in its early stages. This launch sets the stage for Scroll to become one of the field’s dominant projects, offering seamless interconnectivity with the Layer 2 ecosystem and an abundance of new possibilities powered by intents. We explain more below.
Introducing Scroll
In recent years, most leading Layer 2s have used Optimistic Rollups to scale Ethereum. The largest ecosystems use this technology and open-source stacks like the OP Stack have lowered the entry barrier to launching a chain with the same optimistic design pattern.
Scroll takes a different approach. Scroll is a zkEVM solution—it offers full EVM compatibility, using Zero-Knowledge Proofs to verify smart contract executions.
While zkEVMs like Scroll are in their infancy today, ZK is among crypto’s most anticipated technologies and its top chains are widely expected to supercharge Ethereum’s scaling ambitions.
Scroll launched on mainnet in October 2023 and has made a strong entry into the Layer 2 ecosystem. Scroll currently holds about $1.3 billion in locked value and the network has over 5 million unique addresses.
Across follow a host of major projects like the DeFi powerhouses Aave and Compound onto the network. However, it’s one of the first bridges to connect Scroll with the rest of Layer 2 and the chain’s first deployed intents-powered interop solution.
Scroll has shown early promise in the Layer 2 space and its ecosystem’s development is one of the clearest signs of that. With Across now deployed on the network, Scroll is more connected with many more users.
How Across will advance the Scroll ecosystem
Across now offers routes between Scroll and all other supported chains and users can transfer $ETH, $WETH, $WBTC, $USDC, and $USDT.
This launch is a win for Across because it gives the protocol access to a larger portion of the Layer 2 bridging volume share. Across consistently accounts for about 10% of all bridging volume, having grown its market share since early 2023. Scroll’s growth should help Across reinforce its market position as more users and developers will be able to access it to transfer their tokens at a low cost.
While Scroll users have been short on bridging options to date, they can now freely move their assets to and from the ecosystem with the fastest and cheapest bridge on the market.
But there are other reasons Across’ deployment is a boon for the Scroll ecosystem. Thanks to Across’ modular design, which defines the system’s stack as individual layers, Scroll applications can use Across to support their users’ needs. That could mean using Across+ to pull assets from other chains onto Scroll. This feature lets users request a transfer and action with one signature.
Scroll developers can also use Across to settle intent order flow. This means users can articulate their intent, the order will be executed, and the transaction will be batched and settled optimistically through Across’ settlement layer. Across Settlement has already attracted other developers looking to leverage the power of intents and we expect many more to follow.
Across took another step towards advancing Layer 2 interop this year with the launch of the ERC-7683 standard alongside Uniswap Labs. This standard establishes a universal filler network for intents-based systems and we believe it will play a significant role in helping Layer 2s like Scroll connect with other ecosystems.
Words by @dreamsofdefi
