The development team behind the Cronos blockchain, Cronos Labs, announced on Thursday (14th) the launch of a new Layer 2 network, Cronos zkEVM Chain testnet, built using zkSync’s ZK Stack technology. It can be used to launch new L2 and L3 Hyperchains on top of Ethereum.
According to a press release, Cronos zkEVM is the first Hyperchain public testnet built on ZK Stack, aiming to go live on the mainnet in the second quarter of 2024. The network uses TCRO (the testnet version of the $CRO token in the Cronos ecosystem) as the native token to pay transaction fees. Due to zkSync implementing native account abstraction at the protocol level, Cronos zkEVM can also support payment of fees using any cryptocurrency.
The launch of the Cronos zkEVM testnet makes the Cronos ecosystem a multi-chain system across multiple networks, including the EVM-compatible chain Cronos built on Cosmos SDK and the Layer 0 network Cronos PoS Chain that ensures security for the Cronos ecosystem. According to the Cronos Labs website, the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com is a partner, providing the source code for the Cronos PoS Chain.
Ken Timsit, General Manager of Cronos Labs, stated: