Research on the Scroll Blockchain

Beginner1/21/2025, 1:49:55 AM
In this article, we will explore Scroll, Ethereum's Layer 2 solution. As a new contender in the space, Scroll is helping to accelerate the growth and expansion of the Ethereum ecosystem by implementing zk-Rollup technology that is EVM-compatible.

What is Scroll?

Scroll is a zk-Rollup based on zkEVM on Ethereum. It is a Layer 2 solution designed to solve Ethereum’s congestion issues. Its vision is to build a zk-Rollup equivalent to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to achieve better compatibility. Scroll was founded in 2021 and successfully launched its mainnet in October 2023.


Source: scroll.io

Basic Concepts

What is EVM?

The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is the core engine of the Ethereum blockchain, acting as a decentralized computing platform. It supports cross-chain compatibility and executes smart contracts.

The EVM provides the infrastructure for decentralized applications (DApps), enabling the creation of ERC-20 tokens, NFTs, decentralized exchanges, and various other applications.

What is Zero-Knowledge Proof (zkRollup)?

Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) is a cryptographic method that allows one party to prove that a piece of information is true without revealing the actual data. Essentially, the verifier only knows whether the statement is true, without being able to see the specific details of the information.

In the context of blockchain, ZKP enhances privacy and security. For example, it can validate transactions or contracts without disclosing sensitive data. This technology is a key tool for ensuring privacy on public blockchains, especially when information needs to remain confidential or when proprietary data is used to trigger smart contracts.

What is zkEVM?

zkEVM (Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine) combines the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with Zero-Knowledge Proof technology. It allows Ethereum smart contracts to be executed while ensuring the correctness of each action using ZKP, without exposing the underlying details.

zkEVM is part of Ethereum’s Layer 2 scaling solution, zk-Rollup. It moves computational work off-chain and only uploads the essential data and proofs to the main chain. This improves transaction speed, reduces fees, and enhances privacy. In simple terms, zkEVM makes Ethereum more efficient and private, while remaining fully compatible with existing smart contracts.

Project Vision

Scroll aims to create a zk-Rollup that is fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It strives to align closely with Ethereum to ensure full consistency with EVM standards and achieve maximum compatibility. This will allow existing Ethereum applications and tools to migrate seamlessly without the need for code rewrites, providing a more compatible development and user environment.

Currently, the Ethereum ecosystem is dominated by high-risk applications like DeFi and NFT trading, making it difficult for regular users with less capital to get involved. Scroll addresses this by leveraging innovative ZK technology to increase transaction throughput and drastically reduce transaction fees. Its mission is to offer a more accessible and affordable blockchain experience to billions of users worldwide, driving broader blockchain adoption and use.


Source: scroll.io

Development History

Scroll was founded in early 2021 when the three co-founders met in the Ethereum community and established the project.

On July 19, 2022, Scroll launched its pre-alpha testnet for external testers and received valuable community feedback.

On November 24, 2022, Scroll formed a partnership with zCloak, a zero-knowledge privacy DID project, to develop a trusted DID system on Ethereum Layer 2, compatible with W3C standards.

On February 1, 2023, Scroll deployed UniswapV3’s front-end on the testnet, allowing developers and users to experience the platform firsthand.

On February 28, 2023, Scroll released the Ethereum Layer 2 network’s testnet on Goerli, advancing zk-EVM from pre-alpha to the alpha testing phase.

On March 8, 2023, Scroll secured investment from OKX Ventures to help enhance Ethereum’s performance.

On April 4, 2023, Zada Finance, a cross-rollup order book DEX built on Scroll, went live on Scroll’s testnet, supporting account abstraction wallets. This marked Scroll’s first native open-source cross-rollup DEX.

Scroll Protocol Technology Upgrades:

  • The implementation of EIP-4844 data blobs will ensure Layer 1 data availability (scheduled for completion by April 2024).
  • Further upgrades throughout 2024 will enhance performance and reduce gas fees.

    Upcoming Milestones:

  • August 2024 (Darwin Upgrade): Multiple batch aggregation to lower gas fees by 1.7x.
  • October 2024: Additional blobs in a single Layer 1 submission and zk library upgrades, cutting gas fees by 1.5x.
  • Scroll Sessions (on-chain incentives) launched in April 2024, driving significant growth in Total Value Locked (TVL). As of December 28, 2024, Scroll’s DeFi TVL reached $152 million, with a peak of $980 million on October 16, 2024.


Source: defillama

Looking Ahead:

  • In the first half of 2025, Scroll plans to launch a Rust-based sequencer with transaction-level parallelism and an improved trie structure design.

Team Background

Scroll’s founding team comprises three exceptional Chinese professionals—Ye Zhang, Sandy Peng, and Haichen Shen—who launched the project in early 2021.


Source: scroll.io

Ye Zhang holds a bachelor’s degree from Peking University. Since 2018, he has been researching zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, focusing on hardware acceleration and cryptographic algorithms. During his Ph.D., he continued investigating ZK technology, aiming to solve its inefficiencies. In 2021, Ye met his co-founders and decided to apply ZK technology to enhance Ethereum’s scalability.

Haichen Shen graduated from Tsinghua University’s Yao Class and completed a Ph.D. at the University of Washington, specializing in low-level systems. After graduation, he worked at Amazon on machine learning system architecture, demonstrating outstanding engineering skills and an ability to apply theoretical concepts practically.

Sandy Peng graduated from the University of Cambridge and previously conducted research at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. She started investing in Web3 projects in 2017 and has been involved in gaming and product operations. Sandy now manages the team’s non-technical aspects, with expertise in branding and strategic planning for startups.

The team is globally distributed, with members based in China, the United States, Singapore, and Europe, reflecting the project’s decentralized nature.

Funding Information

In April 2022, Scroll completed a $30 million Series A funding round, led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Robot Ventures, Geometry DAO, Ethereum Foundation’s Ying Tong, Carlos Aria, and Ethereum community members such as Anthony Sassal, Ryan Adams, and Santiago Santos.

In March 2023, Scroll raised an additional $50 million, with investors including Polychain Capital, Sequoia China, Bain Capital Crypto, Moore Capital Management, OKX Ventures, Variant Fund, Newman Capital, IOSG Ventures, and Qiming Venture Partners. The funds will be used to advance product development, launch the mainnet, and expand the ecosystem. Scroll plans to expand its team from 60 to nearly 100 people. This funding round boosted the valuation of Scroll to $1.8 billion, bringing the total funding raised to $83 million (including an additional $3 million from angel investors).

Funding Milestones:

  • April 1, 2022: Completed $30 million in Series A funding, led by Polychain Capital and Bain Capital Crypto.
  • March 6, 2023: Raised $50 million in an undisclosed round, led by Polychain Capital and Sequoia Capital.

Total Funding: $80 million
Current Valuation: $1.8 billion


Source: rootdata

Technical Features and Advantages

1.One of the standout features of Scroll is its bytecode-level zkEVM compatibility. This allows existing Solidity, Vyper, and Huff smart contracts to run on Scroll without major modifications or re-audits, giving developers an Ethereum-like experience both in terms of user and development processes.

Unlike other ZK-Rollup solutions like zkSync and Starkware, Scroll offers “native” EVM compatibility, rather than just language compatibility. Platforms like Starkware use the Cairo language, and while zkSync supports Solidity, their underlying virtual machines are still different. These platforms need special compilers to convert contracts into formats suitable for zk technologies, but Scroll provides true EVM compatibility, ensuring better compatibility and flexibility for developers.


Source: scroll.io

2.The Scroll network is structured in three layers:

(1) Settlement Layer
The Settlement Layer acts as a bridge between Scroll and Ethereum. It ensures data availability and transaction ordering, validates transactions, and allows users and decentralized apps (dapps) to exchange information and assets across both networks.
Scroll leverages Ethereum as its settlement layer, deploying key bridging and Rollup contracts on the Ethereum blockchain to guarantee security and reliability.

(2) Sequencing Layer
The Sequencing Layer is responsible for processing transactions and ensuring they are executed in the right order. It mainly includes two components:

  1. Execution Nodes: These nodes execute transactions sent to the Scroll sequencer and generate Layer 2 blocks, representing the transaction records on Scroll.
  2. Rollup Nodes: These nodes batch process transactions, publish transaction data and block information to Ethereum to ensure data availability, and submit validity proofs to Ethereum to confirm the finality of the transactions.

(3) Proving Layer
The Proving Layer is crucial for verifying the accuracy of Scroll’s transactions and ensuring the legality of Layer 2 activities. This layer consists of two main parts:

  1. Provers: These entities generate zkEVM validity proofs and verify the validity of Layer 2 transactions on Scroll.
  2. Coordinators: They assign proving tasks to provers and send the generated proofs to Rollup nodes, ensuring all transactions are confirmed on Ethereum.

These three layers work together seamlessly, making Scroll’s transactions highly efficient and secure.


Source: scroll.io

3.Transaction Lifecycle:

Confirmed: The user submits a transaction to either the L1 bridge contract or L2 sequencer. Confirmation typically happens within 3 seconds.

Submitted: The transaction is grouped into a batch and submitted to L1. Anyone can confirm it on L1, with confirmation typically completed in a few minutes.

Completed: The validity proof for this batch is generated and verified on L1, and this status cannot be reversed. It usually takes several tens of minutes to complete.

Products

1.Mainnet:


Source: scroll.io

2.Scroll SDK: Custom Layer 2 with Full Control

The Scroll SDK enables users to quickly deploy Scroll zkEVM instances and its aggregation architecture for creating Layer 2 solutions on Ethereum. This SDK is designed to support a multi-chain ecosystem, allowing developers to build a powerful ZK stack on Ethereum and collaborate with multiple partners and service providers to push technological advancements.

Key features include:

  • Support for deploying local zkEVM development networks or the Sepolia test network
  • Configurable deployment using Docker, Kubernetes, and Helm
  • Support for Ether or ERC20 tokens as native gas tokens
  • Easy-to-use validation generation with failover and elastic capacity support
  • Adjustable finality times and customizable on-chain costs
  • A variety of tools like CLI tools, Blockscout, Grafana dashboards, Rollup Explorer, and Bridge UI demos to make interacting with the chain easier

With these capabilities, the Scroll SDK streamlines the deployment of Layer 2, making the process more efficient, flexible, and customizable.


Source: x

3.Keystore: Keystore: Smart Contract Wallets Across Any Chain with a Unified Experience

Keystore is a multi-chain account management solution proposed by Vitalik, designed to be the ultimate solution for managing multi-chain accounts in the future. The core concept is to separate asset verification from storage, ensuring assets are stored in a decentralized way while centralizing the verification logic in Keystore. This approach simplifies multi-chain wallet management and boosts privacy.

As the backbone of smart contract wallets, Keystore provides enhanced security and flexibility compared to traditional Externally Owned Accounts (EOA) wallets, offering features such as secondary authentication, gas fee sponsorship, and social recovery. Leveraging zero-knowledge proof technology, Keystore enables users to manage their assets securely without revealing their identity.

Scroll’s hybrid solution stores data on Ethereum L1, while using L2 updates to lower transaction costs and improve security, introducing innovative solutions to cross-chain wallet management.

Learn more: https://scroll.io/blog/towards-the-wallet-endgame-with-keystore


Source: x

Ecosystem


Source: scroll.io

1.DeFi

The key DeFi projects in the Scroll ecosystem include lending protocols such as Aave and dForce, multi-chain DEX aggregators like DODO and OpenOcean, DEXs such as SushiSwap and Syncswap, multi-chain DeFi protocols like iZUMiFinance, DeFi yield protocols like PendleFinance, and leveraged trading aggregators like MUXProtocol.

For example, World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is a DeFi platform inspired by Trump, deeply tied to the Trump family. It aims to drive the adoption of stablecoins and DeFi, particularly US dollar-pegged stablecoins, ensuring the global dominance of the dollar.

Trump has publicly supported the project multiple times, serving as the “Chief Cryptocurrency Advocate,” while his family members participate in various roles. Despite the Trump brand endorsement, the core team mainly operates the platform, with the Trump family earning through brand licensing.

The platform intends to launch a version of Aave on the Ethereum Layer 2 network Scroll, supporting lending and liquidity pool creation. The governance token, WLFI, will be sold in limited quantities under lockup, with no transfer capability, to avoid regulatory risks and restrict its use solely to governance purposes. According to publicly available information, the platform is collaborating with Trump Marks DEFI LLC and AMG Corporation, and the distribution of profits behind the project is complex, indicating significant business operations.

Despite being associated with the Trump brand, many believe this project is more of a typical white-label (OEM) operation, with the real product development and operations handled by another team. The Trump family profits primarily through brand licensing.

WLFI announced on the official X platform that it will appoint Sandy Peng, the co-founder of Ethereum Layer 2 network Scroll, as an advisor.


Source: x

2.Cross-Chain

Scroll’s cross-chain infrastructure includes several major projects such as CelerNetwork, Stargate, Orbiter Finance, Hop Protocol, LI.FI, and Connext, as well as specialized Layer 2 networks like Owlto Finance and Ethereum’s Layer 1 and Layer 2 cross-chain bridge, Pheasant Network. Additionally, it supports liquidity protocols like Symbiosis and Catalyst for cross-chain liquidity.

One example is the third-party bridge, Mini Bridge, which differs from the official bridge by allowing cross-chain transfers to Scroll via other Layer 2 networks, rather than just through the Ethereum mainnet.


Source: minibridge.chaineye.tools

3.Wallets/Digital Asset Management

The Scroll ecosystem integrates multiple wallets and digital asset management platforms, including Safe, OKX Wallet, Bitget Wallet, MathWallet, UniLianGuaiss, Safeheron, Blocto, as well as hardware wallets like OneKey and Keystone.

For example, FoxWallet is a multi-chain wallet that supports Ethereum, Scroll, Aptos, Filecoin, zkSync, Solana, BNB, Arbitrum, Polygon, Gnosis, KCC, OKC, and Syscoin networks, and also allows users to purchase cryptocurrencies directly with fiat within the wallet.


Source: foxwallet

4.NFT

Scroll hosts several NFT projects, including DegoFinance, AlienSwap, Zonic, NFTs2Me, Innovaz, Omnisea, and zkMarkets. These projects cover various NFT marketplaces, trading platforms, and innovative applications.

For instance, AlienSwap, an NFT marketplace, completed a seed funding round led by OKX Blockdream Ventures in June 2022 and later secured $12 million in May 2023, led by NEXT Leader Capital and C² Ventures.


Source: alienswap.xyz

5.Privacy Solutions

Privacy-focused projects within the Scroll ecosystem include EspressoSystems, EigenNetwork, zCloak, zkLianGuaiss, zkMe, and Hana.

For example, zkMe is a decentralized Web3 credential network that leverages Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) to provide secure and private credential issuance and verification.


Source: zk.me

Token Economics

$SCR Token Functions: Native Utility and Governance Token

  1. Network Fee Payment: $SCR can be used to pay transaction fees on the Scroll network, ensuring users have a cost-effective transaction experience.
  2. Staking and Rewards: Users can stake $SCR tokens to become network node operators, earning transaction fees and staking rewards.
  3. Decentralized Governance: Holders of $SCR tokens can participate in the governance of the Scroll network, voting on decisions regarding the project’s future direction and technological upgrades.

Use Case: SCR will function as a protocol token designed to decentralize provers, sequencers, and coordinate innovations in the multi-chain world, allowing it to scale with larger markets. It will also be used for staking, gas-free transactions, and will be key in coordinating incentives across the ecosystem.

4.Ecosystem Growth Incentives: $SCR will also be used to incentivize dApp developers and projects, fostering the development of a stronger ecosystem.


Source: scroll.io

Token Distribution

The total supply of Scroll tokens (SCR) is 1 billion.

Current circulating supply: 139 million, or 13.9% of the total.

Airdrop: 15% (7% for the first round of airdrops, and 8% reserved for future airdrops within the next 12-18 months, rewarding users and contributors to the Scroll ecosystem)

Ecosystem and Growth: 35% (10% allocated to the Scroll DAO treasury, 5.5% for Binance new token pool and presale, the remaining portion for ecosystem partners and projects)

Scroll Foundation Treasury: 10% (for the foundation’s operational costs and Scroll DAO’s early development)

Core Contributors: 23% (for rewarding the core team and advisors, unlocked according to a vesting schedule)

Investors: 17% (for investors who support the project, with tokens unlocked according to a vesting schedule)


Source: scroll.io

Airdrop

First Round Airdrop (7% of Total Supply)

Snapshot Date: October 19, 2024

Claim Date: October 22, 2024

Users participating in ecosystem activities such as using Aave, providing liquidity, and engaging in cross-chain bridging are eligible for this airdrop. This round allocates 5.5% of the token supply to over 570,000 wallets. The distribution is as follows:

  • 4% of the supply: Allocated to on-chain participants who have accumulated 200 or more points at the snapshot date, rewarding their active involvement.
  • 1% of the supply: Equally distributed among all eligible on-chain participants, ensuring that everyone gets a meaningful share regardless of their score, promoting a balanced distribution within the community.
  • 0.5% of the token supply will be distributed to on-chain participants who meet certain criteria, including users who have donated to Gitcoin or Juicebox, users of smart contract wallets on Scroll, and key contributors to the Scroll ecosystem such as open-source developers, technical experts, ZK researchers, and public product organizations. These distributions recognize those who have made significant contributions to the ecosystem’s growth.

Second Round Airdrop (8% of Total Supply)

Scroll Sessions 2 is a loyalty program for the Scroll community, rewarding users with “Marks” for their on-chain activity. This incentivizes members to support and engage in the ecosystem’s development actively. The program will be rolled out in phases, with a variety of tasks and rewards at each stage, including:

(1) Asset bridging and holding

(2) Providing liquidity for DeFi protocols

(3) Other interactions with the ecosystem

Users will automatically accumulate Marks based on how often they engage in on-chain activities, the value of assets they interact with, and specific conditions. These Marks will be exclusive rewards that cannot be transferred or sold. By participating in Scroll Sessions, users will become more integrated into the ecosystem and be rewarded based on their contributions.


Learn more: scroll.io

Is SCR a Good Investment?

Advantages

  1. Technological Innovation: Scroll uses zk-Rollup technology that is fully compatible with Ethereum’s virtual machine (EVM), ensuring high compatibility. This greatly reduces developers’ migration costs and allows seamless integration into the Ethereum ecosystem, accelerating the adoption of Layer 2 solutions.
  2. Strong Team: The Scroll team is led by three exceptional co-founders: Ye Zhang, an undergraduate from Peking University with expertise in zk-proof hardware acceleration and algorithm optimization; Haichen Shen, a Tsinghua University graduate specializing in underlying systems and engineering; and Sandy Peng, a Cambridge graduate and experienced Web3 investor skilled in brand management and operations. Their diverse expertise lays a solid foundation for both technical development and operational success.
  3. Huge Market Potential: zk-Rollup is seen as the future mainstream solution for scaling Ethereum, offering significant advantages in privacy and cost efficiency. Scroll stands out due to the high compatibility and efficiency of its technology, positioning it well in the market.

Risks

  1. Intense Market Competition: Compared to zkSync and StarkWare, Scroll’s ecosystem is still in its early stages, lacking a fully developed infrastructure and widespread cooperation network. Many third-party projects are more inclined to choose zkSync and StarkWare due to their clear advantages in funding, infrastructure, and ecosystem maturity. Therefore, Scroll needs to focus on expanding its partnerships and ecosystem development to bridge this gap.
  2. Challenges in Technical Implementation: While zk-Rollup has immense potential, the complexity of achieving a fully Ethereum-compatible zk-Rollup solution is high. This requires significant ongoing investment in development and comes with the risk of delays or technological setbacks.
  3. Market Sell-off Pressure: With only 13.9% of SCR tokens currently in circulation, there will be significant unlocking pressure in the future. Tokens held by core contributors and early investors, accounting for 40% of the supply, will gradually be unlocked over the next few years. This large-scale release could cause price fluctuations, so investors should consider the potential impact on the project’s price and long-term performance.


Source: scrollscan

Market Data (as of December 28, 2024)

  • Market Cap: $140,956,602
  • Price per SCR: $1.01
  • Circulating Supply: 139 million (13.9% of the total 1 billion SCR tokens)

Conclusion

Scroll is unique in implementing bytecode-level zkEVM compatibility, allowing existing Ethereum contracts (Solidity, Vyper, Huff) to run on Scroll without modification, ensuring seamless integration with Ethereum. With its ZK-Rollups technology, Scroll offers significant advantages in reducing transaction costs and speeding up transactions, which provides substantial market potential.

However, the competition in the Layer 2 space is fierce. Established players like Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, StarkNet, and zkSync have already captured significant market share. As a newcomer, Scroll faces the challenge of competing with and standing out from these leaders.

To succeed in this competitive environment, the Scroll team must adopt effective strategies to attract and retain users. Firstly, Scroll can enhance its ecosystem’s appeal by introducing innovative projects, strengthening ecosystem partnerships, and optimizing developer tools. Secondly, the team can increase network activity by promoting the trading of popular meme coins, adding liquidity pools, and introducing attractive incentive mechanisms. Additionally, by responding quickly to new markets and demands (such as NFTs and DeFi), Scroll can ensure its technological leadership and market share in Layer 2 solutions.

Author: Jones
Translator: Paine
Reviewer(s): Wayne、KOWEI、Elisa
Translation Reviewer(s): Ashley、Joyce
* The information is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice or any other recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by Gate.io.
* This article may not be reproduced, transmitted or copied without referencing Gate.io. Contravention is an infringement of Copyright Act and may be subject to legal action.

Research on the Scroll Blockchain

Beginner1/21/2025, 1:49:55 AM
In this article, we will explore Scroll, Ethereum's Layer 2 solution. As a new contender in the space, Scroll is helping to accelerate the growth and expansion of the Ethereum ecosystem by implementing zk-Rollup technology that is EVM-compatible.

What is Scroll?

Scroll is a zk-Rollup based on zkEVM on Ethereum. It is a Layer 2 solution designed to solve Ethereum’s congestion issues. Its vision is to build a zk-Rollup equivalent to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to achieve better compatibility. Scroll was founded in 2021 and successfully launched its mainnet in October 2023.


Source: scroll.io

Basic Concepts

What is EVM?

The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is the core engine of the Ethereum blockchain, acting as a decentralized computing platform. It supports cross-chain compatibility and executes smart contracts.

The EVM provides the infrastructure for decentralized applications (DApps), enabling the creation of ERC-20 tokens, NFTs, decentralized exchanges, and various other applications.

What is Zero-Knowledge Proof (zkRollup)?

Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) is a cryptographic method that allows one party to prove that a piece of information is true without revealing the actual data. Essentially, the verifier only knows whether the statement is true, without being able to see the specific details of the information.

In the context of blockchain, ZKP enhances privacy and security. For example, it can validate transactions or contracts without disclosing sensitive data. This technology is a key tool for ensuring privacy on public blockchains, especially when information needs to remain confidential or when proprietary data is used to trigger smart contracts.

What is zkEVM?

zkEVM (Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine) combines the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with Zero-Knowledge Proof technology. It allows Ethereum smart contracts to be executed while ensuring the correctness of each action using ZKP, without exposing the underlying details.

zkEVM is part of Ethereum’s Layer 2 scaling solution, zk-Rollup. It moves computational work off-chain and only uploads the essential data and proofs to the main chain. This improves transaction speed, reduces fees, and enhances privacy. In simple terms, zkEVM makes Ethereum more efficient and private, while remaining fully compatible with existing smart contracts.

Project Vision

Scroll aims to create a zk-Rollup that is fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It strives to align closely with Ethereum to ensure full consistency with EVM standards and achieve maximum compatibility. This will allow existing Ethereum applications and tools to migrate seamlessly without the need for code rewrites, providing a more compatible development and user environment.

Currently, the Ethereum ecosystem is dominated by high-risk applications like DeFi and NFT trading, making it difficult for regular users with less capital to get involved. Scroll addresses this by leveraging innovative ZK technology to increase transaction throughput and drastically reduce transaction fees. Its mission is to offer a more accessible and affordable blockchain experience to billions of users worldwide, driving broader blockchain adoption and use.


Source: scroll.io

Development History

Scroll was founded in early 2021 when the three co-founders met in the Ethereum community and established the project.

On July 19, 2022, Scroll launched its pre-alpha testnet for external testers and received valuable community feedback.

On November 24, 2022, Scroll formed a partnership with zCloak, a zero-knowledge privacy DID project, to develop a trusted DID system on Ethereum Layer 2, compatible with W3C standards.

On February 1, 2023, Scroll deployed UniswapV3’s front-end on the testnet, allowing developers and users to experience the platform firsthand.

On February 28, 2023, Scroll released the Ethereum Layer 2 network’s testnet on Goerli, advancing zk-EVM from pre-alpha to the alpha testing phase.

On March 8, 2023, Scroll secured investment from OKX Ventures to help enhance Ethereum’s performance.

On April 4, 2023, Zada Finance, a cross-rollup order book DEX built on Scroll, went live on Scroll’s testnet, supporting account abstraction wallets. This marked Scroll’s first native open-source cross-rollup DEX.

Scroll Protocol Technology Upgrades:

  • The implementation of EIP-4844 data blobs will ensure Layer 1 data availability (scheduled for completion by April 2024).
  • Further upgrades throughout 2024 will enhance performance and reduce gas fees.

    Upcoming Milestones:

  • August 2024 (Darwin Upgrade): Multiple batch aggregation to lower gas fees by 1.7x.
  • October 2024: Additional blobs in a single Layer 1 submission and zk library upgrades, cutting gas fees by 1.5x.
  • Scroll Sessions (on-chain incentives) launched in April 2024, driving significant growth in Total Value Locked (TVL). As of December 28, 2024, Scroll’s DeFi TVL reached $152 million, with a peak of $980 million on October 16, 2024.


Source: defillama

Looking Ahead:

  • In the first half of 2025, Scroll plans to launch a Rust-based sequencer with transaction-level parallelism and an improved trie structure design.

Team Background

Scroll’s founding team comprises three exceptional Chinese professionals—Ye Zhang, Sandy Peng, and Haichen Shen—who launched the project in early 2021.


Source: scroll.io

Ye Zhang holds a bachelor’s degree from Peking University. Since 2018, he has been researching zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, focusing on hardware acceleration and cryptographic algorithms. During his Ph.D., he continued investigating ZK technology, aiming to solve its inefficiencies. In 2021, Ye met his co-founders and decided to apply ZK technology to enhance Ethereum’s scalability.

Haichen Shen graduated from Tsinghua University’s Yao Class and completed a Ph.D. at the University of Washington, specializing in low-level systems. After graduation, he worked at Amazon on machine learning system architecture, demonstrating outstanding engineering skills and an ability to apply theoretical concepts practically.

Sandy Peng graduated from the University of Cambridge and previously conducted research at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. She started investing in Web3 projects in 2017 and has been involved in gaming and product operations. Sandy now manages the team’s non-technical aspects, with expertise in branding and strategic planning for startups.

The team is globally distributed, with members based in China, the United States, Singapore, and Europe, reflecting the project’s decentralized nature.

Funding Information

In April 2022, Scroll completed a $30 million Series A funding round, led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Robot Ventures, Geometry DAO, Ethereum Foundation’s Ying Tong, Carlos Aria, and Ethereum community members such as Anthony Sassal, Ryan Adams, and Santiago Santos.

In March 2023, Scroll raised an additional $50 million, with investors including Polychain Capital, Sequoia China, Bain Capital Crypto, Moore Capital Management, OKX Ventures, Variant Fund, Newman Capital, IOSG Ventures, and Qiming Venture Partners. The funds will be used to advance product development, launch the mainnet, and expand the ecosystem. Scroll plans to expand its team from 60 to nearly 100 people. This funding round boosted the valuation of Scroll to $1.8 billion, bringing the total funding raised to $83 million (including an additional $3 million from angel investors).

Funding Milestones:

  • April 1, 2022: Completed $30 million in Series A funding, led by Polychain Capital and Bain Capital Crypto.
  • March 6, 2023: Raised $50 million in an undisclosed round, led by Polychain Capital and Sequoia Capital.

Total Funding: $80 million
Current Valuation: $1.8 billion


Source: rootdata

Technical Features and Advantages

1.One of the standout features of Scroll is its bytecode-level zkEVM compatibility. This allows existing Solidity, Vyper, and Huff smart contracts to run on Scroll without major modifications or re-audits, giving developers an Ethereum-like experience both in terms of user and development processes.

Unlike other ZK-Rollup solutions like zkSync and Starkware, Scroll offers “native” EVM compatibility, rather than just language compatibility. Platforms like Starkware use the Cairo language, and while zkSync supports Solidity, their underlying virtual machines are still different. These platforms need special compilers to convert contracts into formats suitable for zk technologies, but Scroll provides true EVM compatibility, ensuring better compatibility and flexibility for developers.


Source: scroll.io

2.The Scroll network is structured in three layers:

(1) Settlement Layer
The Settlement Layer acts as a bridge between Scroll and Ethereum. It ensures data availability and transaction ordering, validates transactions, and allows users and decentralized apps (dapps) to exchange information and assets across both networks.
Scroll leverages Ethereum as its settlement layer, deploying key bridging and Rollup contracts on the Ethereum blockchain to guarantee security and reliability.

(2) Sequencing Layer
The Sequencing Layer is responsible for processing transactions and ensuring they are executed in the right order. It mainly includes two components:

  1. Execution Nodes: These nodes execute transactions sent to the Scroll sequencer and generate Layer 2 blocks, representing the transaction records on Scroll.
  2. Rollup Nodes: These nodes batch process transactions, publish transaction data and block information to Ethereum to ensure data availability, and submit validity proofs to Ethereum to confirm the finality of the transactions.

(3) Proving Layer
The Proving Layer is crucial for verifying the accuracy of Scroll’s transactions and ensuring the legality of Layer 2 activities. This layer consists of two main parts:

  1. Provers: These entities generate zkEVM validity proofs and verify the validity of Layer 2 transactions on Scroll.
  2. Coordinators: They assign proving tasks to provers and send the generated proofs to Rollup nodes, ensuring all transactions are confirmed on Ethereum.

These three layers work together seamlessly, making Scroll’s transactions highly efficient and secure.


Source: scroll.io

3.Transaction Lifecycle:

Confirmed: The user submits a transaction to either the L1 bridge contract or L2 sequencer. Confirmation typically happens within 3 seconds.

Submitted: The transaction is grouped into a batch and submitted to L1. Anyone can confirm it on L1, with confirmation typically completed in a few minutes.

Completed: The validity proof for this batch is generated and verified on L1, and this status cannot be reversed. It usually takes several tens of minutes to complete.

Products

1.Mainnet:


Source: scroll.io

2.Scroll SDK: Custom Layer 2 with Full Control

The Scroll SDK enables users to quickly deploy Scroll zkEVM instances and its aggregation architecture for creating Layer 2 solutions on Ethereum. This SDK is designed to support a multi-chain ecosystem, allowing developers to build a powerful ZK stack on Ethereum and collaborate with multiple partners and service providers to push technological advancements.

Key features include:

  • Support for deploying local zkEVM development networks or the Sepolia test network
  • Configurable deployment using Docker, Kubernetes, and Helm
  • Support for Ether or ERC20 tokens as native gas tokens
  • Easy-to-use validation generation with failover and elastic capacity support
  • Adjustable finality times and customizable on-chain costs
  • A variety of tools like CLI tools, Blockscout, Grafana dashboards, Rollup Explorer, and Bridge UI demos to make interacting with the chain easier

With these capabilities, the Scroll SDK streamlines the deployment of Layer 2, making the process more efficient, flexible, and customizable.


Source: x

3.Keystore: Keystore: Smart Contract Wallets Across Any Chain with a Unified Experience

Keystore is a multi-chain account management solution proposed by Vitalik, designed to be the ultimate solution for managing multi-chain accounts in the future. The core concept is to separate asset verification from storage, ensuring assets are stored in a decentralized way while centralizing the verification logic in Keystore. This approach simplifies multi-chain wallet management and boosts privacy.

As the backbone of smart contract wallets, Keystore provides enhanced security and flexibility compared to traditional Externally Owned Accounts (EOA) wallets, offering features such as secondary authentication, gas fee sponsorship, and social recovery. Leveraging zero-knowledge proof technology, Keystore enables users to manage their assets securely without revealing their identity.

Scroll’s hybrid solution stores data on Ethereum L1, while using L2 updates to lower transaction costs and improve security, introducing innovative solutions to cross-chain wallet management.

Learn more: https://scroll.io/blog/towards-the-wallet-endgame-with-keystore


Source: x

Ecosystem


Source: scroll.io

1.DeFi

The key DeFi projects in the Scroll ecosystem include lending protocols such as Aave and dForce, multi-chain DEX aggregators like DODO and OpenOcean, DEXs such as SushiSwap and Syncswap, multi-chain DeFi protocols like iZUMiFinance, DeFi yield protocols like PendleFinance, and leveraged trading aggregators like MUXProtocol.

For example, World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is a DeFi platform inspired by Trump, deeply tied to the Trump family. It aims to drive the adoption of stablecoins and DeFi, particularly US dollar-pegged stablecoins, ensuring the global dominance of the dollar.

Trump has publicly supported the project multiple times, serving as the “Chief Cryptocurrency Advocate,” while his family members participate in various roles. Despite the Trump brand endorsement, the core team mainly operates the platform, with the Trump family earning through brand licensing.

The platform intends to launch a version of Aave on the Ethereum Layer 2 network Scroll, supporting lending and liquidity pool creation. The governance token, WLFI, will be sold in limited quantities under lockup, with no transfer capability, to avoid regulatory risks and restrict its use solely to governance purposes. According to publicly available information, the platform is collaborating with Trump Marks DEFI LLC and AMG Corporation, and the distribution of profits behind the project is complex, indicating significant business operations.

Despite being associated with the Trump brand, many believe this project is more of a typical white-label (OEM) operation, with the real product development and operations handled by another team. The Trump family profits primarily through brand licensing.

WLFI announced on the official X platform that it will appoint Sandy Peng, the co-founder of Ethereum Layer 2 network Scroll, as an advisor.


Source: x

2.Cross-Chain

Scroll’s cross-chain infrastructure includes several major projects such as CelerNetwork, Stargate, Orbiter Finance, Hop Protocol, LI.FI, and Connext, as well as specialized Layer 2 networks like Owlto Finance and Ethereum’s Layer 1 and Layer 2 cross-chain bridge, Pheasant Network. Additionally, it supports liquidity protocols like Symbiosis and Catalyst for cross-chain liquidity.

One example is the third-party bridge, Mini Bridge, which differs from the official bridge by allowing cross-chain transfers to Scroll via other Layer 2 networks, rather than just through the Ethereum mainnet.


Source: minibridge.chaineye.tools

3.Wallets/Digital Asset Management

The Scroll ecosystem integrates multiple wallets and digital asset management platforms, including Safe, OKX Wallet, Bitget Wallet, MathWallet, UniLianGuaiss, Safeheron, Blocto, as well as hardware wallets like OneKey and Keystone.

For example, FoxWallet is a multi-chain wallet that supports Ethereum, Scroll, Aptos, Filecoin, zkSync, Solana, BNB, Arbitrum, Polygon, Gnosis, KCC, OKC, and Syscoin networks, and also allows users to purchase cryptocurrencies directly with fiat within the wallet.


Source: foxwallet

4.NFT

Scroll hosts several NFT projects, including DegoFinance, AlienSwap, Zonic, NFTs2Me, Innovaz, Omnisea, and zkMarkets. These projects cover various NFT marketplaces, trading platforms, and innovative applications.

For instance, AlienSwap, an NFT marketplace, completed a seed funding round led by OKX Blockdream Ventures in June 2022 and later secured $12 million in May 2023, led by NEXT Leader Capital and C² Ventures.


Source: alienswap.xyz

5.Privacy Solutions

Privacy-focused projects within the Scroll ecosystem include EspressoSystems, EigenNetwork, zCloak, zkLianGuaiss, zkMe, and Hana.

For example, zkMe is a decentralized Web3 credential network that leverages Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) to provide secure and private credential issuance and verification.


Source: zk.me

Token Economics

$SCR Token Functions: Native Utility and Governance Token

  1. Network Fee Payment: $SCR can be used to pay transaction fees on the Scroll network, ensuring users have a cost-effective transaction experience.
  2. Staking and Rewards: Users can stake $SCR tokens to become network node operators, earning transaction fees and staking rewards.
  3. Decentralized Governance: Holders of $SCR tokens can participate in the governance of the Scroll network, voting on decisions regarding the project’s future direction and technological upgrades.

Use Case: SCR will function as a protocol token designed to decentralize provers, sequencers, and coordinate innovations in the multi-chain world, allowing it to scale with larger markets. It will also be used for staking, gas-free transactions, and will be key in coordinating incentives across the ecosystem.

4.Ecosystem Growth Incentives: $SCR will also be used to incentivize dApp developers and projects, fostering the development of a stronger ecosystem.


Source: scroll.io

Token Distribution

The total supply of Scroll tokens (SCR) is 1 billion.

Current circulating supply: 139 million, or 13.9% of the total.

Airdrop: 15% (7% for the first round of airdrops, and 8% reserved for future airdrops within the next 12-18 months, rewarding users and contributors to the Scroll ecosystem)

Ecosystem and Growth: 35% (10% allocated to the Scroll DAO treasury, 5.5% for Binance new token pool and presale, the remaining portion for ecosystem partners and projects)

Scroll Foundation Treasury: 10% (for the foundation’s operational costs and Scroll DAO’s early development)

Core Contributors: 23% (for rewarding the core team and advisors, unlocked according to a vesting schedule)

Investors: 17% (for investors who support the project, with tokens unlocked according to a vesting schedule)


Source: scroll.io

Airdrop

First Round Airdrop (7% of Total Supply)

Snapshot Date: October 19, 2024

Claim Date: October 22, 2024

Users participating in ecosystem activities such as using Aave, providing liquidity, and engaging in cross-chain bridging are eligible for this airdrop. This round allocates 5.5% of the token supply to over 570,000 wallets. The distribution is as follows:

  • 4% of the supply: Allocated to on-chain participants who have accumulated 200 or more points at the snapshot date, rewarding their active involvement.
  • 1% of the supply: Equally distributed among all eligible on-chain participants, ensuring that everyone gets a meaningful share regardless of their score, promoting a balanced distribution within the community.
  • 0.5% of the token supply will be distributed to on-chain participants who meet certain criteria, including users who have donated to Gitcoin or Juicebox, users of smart contract wallets on Scroll, and key contributors to the Scroll ecosystem such as open-source developers, technical experts, ZK researchers, and public product organizations. These distributions recognize those who have made significant contributions to the ecosystem’s growth.

Second Round Airdrop (8% of Total Supply)

Scroll Sessions 2 is a loyalty program for the Scroll community, rewarding users with “Marks” for their on-chain activity. This incentivizes members to support and engage in the ecosystem’s development actively. The program will be rolled out in phases, with a variety of tasks and rewards at each stage, including:

(1) Asset bridging and holding

(2) Providing liquidity for DeFi protocols

(3) Other interactions with the ecosystem

Users will automatically accumulate Marks based on how often they engage in on-chain activities, the value of assets they interact with, and specific conditions. These Marks will be exclusive rewards that cannot be transferred or sold. By participating in Scroll Sessions, users will become more integrated into the ecosystem and be rewarded based on their contributions.


Learn more: scroll.io

Is SCR a Good Investment?

Advantages

  1. Technological Innovation: Scroll uses zk-Rollup technology that is fully compatible with Ethereum’s virtual machine (EVM), ensuring high compatibility. This greatly reduces developers’ migration costs and allows seamless integration into the Ethereum ecosystem, accelerating the adoption of Layer 2 solutions.
  2. Strong Team: The Scroll team is led by three exceptional co-founders: Ye Zhang, an undergraduate from Peking University with expertise in zk-proof hardware acceleration and algorithm optimization; Haichen Shen, a Tsinghua University graduate specializing in underlying systems and engineering; and Sandy Peng, a Cambridge graduate and experienced Web3 investor skilled in brand management and operations. Their diverse expertise lays a solid foundation for both technical development and operational success.
  3. Huge Market Potential: zk-Rollup is seen as the future mainstream solution for scaling Ethereum, offering significant advantages in privacy and cost efficiency. Scroll stands out due to the high compatibility and efficiency of its technology, positioning it well in the market.

Risks

  1. Intense Market Competition: Compared to zkSync and StarkWare, Scroll’s ecosystem is still in its early stages, lacking a fully developed infrastructure and widespread cooperation network. Many third-party projects are more inclined to choose zkSync and StarkWare due to their clear advantages in funding, infrastructure, and ecosystem maturity. Therefore, Scroll needs to focus on expanding its partnerships and ecosystem development to bridge this gap.
  2. Challenges in Technical Implementation: While zk-Rollup has immense potential, the complexity of achieving a fully Ethereum-compatible zk-Rollup solution is high. This requires significant ongoing investment in development and comes with the risk of delays or technological setbacks.
  3. Market Sell-off Pressure: With only 13.9% of SCR tokens currently in circulation, there will be significant unlocking pressure in the future. Tokens held by core contributors and early investors, accounting for 40% of the supply, will gradually be unlocked over the next few years. This large-scale release could cause price fluctuations, so investors should consider the potential impact on the project’s price and long-term performance.


Source: scrollscan

Market Data (as of December 28, 2024)

  • Market Cap: $140,956,602
  • Price per SCR: $1.01
  • Circulating Supply: 139 million (13.9% of the total 1 billion SCR tokens)

Conclusion

Scroll is unique in implementing bytecode-level zkEVM compatibility, allowing existing Ethereum contracts (Solidity, Vyper, Huff) to run on Scroll without modification, ensuring seamless integration with Ethereum. With its ZK-Rollups technology, Scroll offers significant advantages in reducing transaction costs and speeding up transactions, which provides substantial market potential.

However, the competition in the Layer 2 space is fierce. Established players like Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, StarkNet, and zkSync have already captured significant market share. As a newcomer, Scroll faces the challenge of competing with and standing out from these leaders.

To succeed in this competitive environment, the Scroll team must adopt effective strategies to attract and retain users. Firstly, Scroll can enhance its ecosystem’s appeal by introducing innovative projects, strengthening ecosystem partnerships, and optimizing developer tools. Secondly, the team can increase network activity by promoting the trading of popular meme coins, adding liquidity pools, and introducing attractive incentive mechanisms. Additionally, by responding quickly to new markets and demands (such as NFTs and DeFi), Scroll can ensure its technological leadership and market share in Layer 2 solutions.

Author: Jones
Translator: Paine
Reviewer(s): Wayne、KOWEI、Elisa
Translation Reviewer(s): Ashley、Joyce
* The information is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice or any other recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by Gate.io.
* This article may not be reproduced, transmitted or copied without referencing Gate.io. Contravention is an infringement of Copyright Act and may be subject to legal action.
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