Zora Network is a Layer 2 (L2) scaling solution built on Ethereum, designed to make NFT interactions more efficient and cost-effective. Developed by the Zora team, the network aims to alleviate congestion on Ethereum by handling NFT transactions offchain.
Key takeaways
- While it may be smaller than more DeFi-centric L2s, Zora Network has become the dominant L2 when it comes to NFT activity.
- So far, the network has facilitated over 4 million NFT mints and more than $300 million worth of NFT secondary sales.
- Zora Network is also among the cheapest L2s to use today, with its average transaction fee currently around $0.001.
What is Zora?
Zora is a media and marketplace protocol for creating and collecting NFTs, designed as a hyperstructure that operates indefinitely without intermediaries.
The zora.co platform and Zora mobile app, both of which can be used without needing crypto or a wallet, serve as social network frontends for Zora. They enable easy creation and discovery of NFTs across networks like Ethereum, Base, and OP Mainnet, and allow creators to earn a portion of their collectors’ mint fees through Zora Protocol Rewards.
What is Zora Network?
In June 2023, Zora launched the now independently-run Zora Network as an Ethereum L2 built on the OP Stack framework, the foundation of Optimism’s Superchain vision.
The L2 is designed as a bespoke hub for the Zora protocol so Zora creators and collectors can access fast and affordable NFT transactions. The average transaction fee on the network is $0.001, making it an extremely cost-effective environment for artists and their fans.
As such, Zora Network has become a premier destination for creators in the cryptoeconomy. Over 40% of its gas fees are derived from NFT transactions, the highest amount for any L2 active in the Ethereum ecosystem today.
How does Zora Network work?
As an OP Stack chain, Zora Network is an optimistic rollup-style L2.
Optimistic rollups work by batching multiple transactions together and submitting them to the Ethereum mainnet, reducing the load on Ethereum and increasing transaction throughput.
This type of L2 assumes transactions are valid by default and is designed to use a mechanism known as fraud proofs for challenging and proving incorrect transactions. This architecture enables fast and cheap transactions while still inheriting the security and decentralization of Ethereum.
Why Zora Network?
The Zora platform and Zora Network combo have become the leading place for NFT mints in crypto. If you’re an artist looking for an active hub with great tooling for releasing NFTs, this is where you want to be.
On the collector side of things, Zora Network offers extremely inexpensive UX and serves as an ideal foundation for other supported Zora features, like card payments.
How to invest in Zora Network?
Zora Network uses ETH as its native gas token, and no plans for an official Zora token have been announced to date.
However, it’s typical for L2s to decentralize by releasing a token to kickstart governance, so it seems possible that Zora Network may eventually have a native token. If an airdrop does happen, the token will become tradable on exchanges and offer a direct way to invest in the Zora ecosystem.
Top Zora projects
- 🎨 Zora — the NFT platform at the heart of the Zora ecosysstem
- 😄 Enjoy — the first “scenecoin” curation project on Zora Network
- 💎 Gallery — an NFT curation platform
- 🌉 Relay — a great L2 “fast bridge”
- 📱 Surreal — an NFT discovery app with Zora support
- 🦄 Uniswap — the leading decentralized exchange