Zilliqa Monthly Newsletter - May 2024

As we head into the month of June, I am thrilled to see the reaction to the release of the recently launched Zilliqa 2.0 whitepaper and roadmap, which lays out a clear vision for an easy-to-use, fast, and flexible blockchain. 

I encourage everyone to dive into this exciting evolution of the Zilliqa protocol and the potential it has to shape the future of Web3.

The month leading up to this milestone has been an eventful one. May saw the Zilliqa network reach impressive milestones and several big announcements from projects within our ecosystem.

The Zilliqa infrastructure team also reacted quickly and with the utmost dedication to not only resolve a brief disruption to block production but also to deliver an upgrade to EVM compatibility with Zilliqa v9.3.4, making the developer experience on Zilliqa easier and more accessible.

Another highlight from May was The Winners Circle's partnership with star jockey Saffie Osborne. Saffie's recent historic wins have brought further acclaim to this initiative, and we are excited about the visibility and engagement this partnership will bring.

ZIL was also listed on BitMe last month, bringing Zilliqa to a leading exchange in Europe and Latin America, and allowing over 1 million Bit2Me users to trade and use ZIL seamlessly, significantly expanding our reach and utility in these regions.

Web3War revealed its 2024 roadmap and launched an ambassador programme, while TokenTraxx announced its Membership 2.0 May Campaign, offering users rewards for community engagement. Additionally, our team participated in various events, sharing our vision for Zilliqa 2.0 and the innovative capabilities it brings.

As we celebrate the announcement of Zilliqa 2.0 and work to deliver on the project's roadmap, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the community's unwavering support, and for their enthusiasm around the revitalisation of the Zilliqa protocol and ecosystem.

Together, as we build out the intuitive and flexible infrastructure of Zilliqa 2.0, we unlock the ability to shape the future we imagine.

- Matt Dyer
Zilliqa CEO

Check out all the highlights from May 2024 below:

Anticipation builds around Zilliqa 2.0

May saw the Zilliqa network hit an impressive milestone, reaching a total of more than 66 million transactions and 5 million addresses.

These figures demonstrate the healthy growth and activity on the network as work continues on the upcoming rollout of Zilliqa 2.0.

This past month, the Zilliqa technical team continued to work hard on the infrastructure required to deliver Zilliqa 2.0, building on the interest and activity within the flourishing Zilliqa ecosystem and the anticipation for the rollout of the network’s new whitepaper and roadmap.

Excitement around the capabilities of Zilliqa 2.0 was further kindled by a teaser of the new consensus mechanism’s performance, with Head of Research Zoltan Fazekas demonstrating the protocol is capable of burning 20 million gas per block with 1-second block times.

The Zilliqa 2.0 roadmap and whitepaper have since been revealed, outlining the evolution of the Zilliqa network as an easy-to-use, fast and flexible blockchain that users and developers can shape to their needs.

To find out more about Zilliqa 2.0, check out the official roadmap website.

The Winners Circle partners with Saffie Osborne

Looking at major projects within the Zilliqa ecosystem, The Winners Circle made headlines following the announcement of its partnership with star jockey Saffie Osborne.

The Winners Circle is a horse racing loyalty programme, developed by Racing League in partnership with Zilliqa, that aims to go 'Beyond the Race' by offering a range of exciting features to fans, from unprecedented access to Racing League events to the ability to compete for rewards in a skill-based prediction game.

As a result of this exciting partnership, racing fans can look forward to seeing The Winners Circle branding prominently displayed on Saffie’s chaps when she races in various events.

At just 22 years old, Osborne is quickly making a name for herself in the horse racing world. Recently, she made history as the first female jockey to win at Meydan Racecourse, securing a remarkable victory in the prestigious Lord Glitters Handicap. She also holds the distinction of being the first female jockey to win the Chester Cup.

Read more about The Winners Circle’s partnership with Saffie Osborne.

EVM improvements with Zilliqa v9.3.4

May was a busy month for the Zilliqa infrastructure team. In addition to the ongoing work on technical features for Zilliqa 2.0, work continued on improving EVM compatibility and delivering general network improvements.

Not only did the team work impressively quickly to minimise the effects of a network disruption and resolve the issue in a timely manner, but they also pushed the latest release of the protocol last month, Zilliqa v9.3.4.

Zilliqa v9.3.4 delivered several improvements to EVM compatibility aimed at making it easier and more accessible to deploy EVM applications on the Zilliqa network.

The upgrade also included a number of fixes for bugs related to EVM compatibility, improving the overall developer experience on the Zilliqa network.

Read more about upgrade v9.3.4 on the Zilliqa blog.

Bit2Me listing boosts reach in Europe

Another exciting highlight from May was the announcement of the ZIL token being listed on Bit2Me, one of the leading centralised exchanges in Europe and Latin America.

This means that the more than 1 million users of Bit2Me are now able to seamlessly purchase and trade ZIL, marking a significant step towards expanding the blockchain’s exposure and presence in these regions.

Users on Bit2Me will be able to buy and sell ZIL directly from the Bit2Me Wallet, and they will be able to make purchases with ZIL using the Bit2Me Mastercard, bringing more utility to Zilliqa’s native token.

Read more about the Bit2Me listing and what it means for the Zilliqa ecosystem.

AMAs and Ecosystem News

May was an exciting month for the Zilliqa ecosystem, with a number of projects making major announcements and the Zilliqa team attending a number of online and physical events to share our vision for Zilliqa 2.0.

Web3War, the free-to-play Skill2Earn multiplayer FPS developed by Zilliqa Group venture Roll1ng Thund3rz, revealed its roadmap for 2024, which includes its Season 2 update and the announcement of a browser-based racing game that will be launched by Roll1ng Thund3rz this year.

Other exciting Web3War-related announcements included the launch of the Web3War ambassador programme, which gives fans of the game the chance to become a Web3Warrior and earn rewards for joining an elite group of gaming influencers.

TokenTraxx, another Zilliqa Group venture creating the decentralised future of music, announced the launch of the Membership 2.0 May Campaign last month, giving users the chance to complete quests and earn rewards for interacting with the platform’s community of artists.

Torch, the smart wallet developed by IgniteDAO, saw impressive adoption of its instant unstaking feature last month, and it also announced it would support the $HRSE native token for The Winners Circle upon launch.

The Kalijo team has also continued to buy back and burn its $SEED token to encourage a growing token economy, and as of the end of May, they had burned more than 115,000 $SEED since the token’s launch.

The Zilliqa team was out in full force, last month, with Matt Dyer and Zoltan Fazekas appearing on a Spaces hosted by House of Chimera, where they broke down the vision behind Zilliqa 2.0 and the exciting capabilities offered by the evolution of the network.

Watch the full Zilliqa 2.0 spaces with Matt Dyer and Zoltan Fazekas.

Zilliqa Head of Product Anton Agafonov also made public appearances last month, joining a panel on Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRTs) at a community meetup in Dubai hosted by Staking Circle.

Stay tuned to our socials and subscribe to the Zilliqa blog to stay up to date with the latest news!