Getting Started with LayerZero

Dear Bankless Nation,

Earlier this month, we dug into the LayerZero opportunity – highlighting what the protocol enables and what makes it important and relevant to crypto right now.

Today, we unpack how you can get started playing around with some decentralized apps built on the LayerZero protocol.

- Bankless team

LayerZero is an omnichain interoperability protocol that supports cross-chain apps. It enables use cases like trading out of a token on one chain and into a new token on a different chain, all in a single transaction.

That said, there’s no singular LayerZero app that you go to use. Rather, you can try the apps that are built on top of, or that have integrated with, the cross-chain protocol. And it turns out there are already many such apps, as you can see below!

So if you’re a newcomer to LayerZero tech, where to start?

I’ve been thinking on that question, so I’ve curated a list of 4 basic activities you can try today to up your experience around this new omnichain frontier. Let’s start with the first app built on LayerZero, Stargate…

1. Bridge funds across chains using Stargate

Overview

Stargate is a bridging protocol that makes it easy to move funds from one chain to another. It attempts to tackle the “bridging trilemma” by guaranteeing immediate cross-chain transaction finality, supporting native assets (instead of wrapped ones), and facilitating liquidity with a unified liquidity pool system.

How to use

1. Go to stargate.finance/transfer
2. Connect your wallet
3. Input the network you want to transfer from (e.g. Ethereum), the asset you want to transfer (e.g. USDC), and the network you want to transfer to (e.g. Polygon
4. Press “Transfer” and start the transaction with your wallet
5. It will typically take a few minutes for your transaction to complete, so feel free to use layerzeroscan.com to track your transaction’s status while you wait!

2. Make a cross chain trade on Sushi

Overview

Sushi is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that’s always taken a “wide” approach to its deployments, as the protocol has now launched on no less than 26 different chains. To shorten the distance between these chains, so to speak, last summer Sushi launched SushiXSwap, the first cross-chain DEX built atop Stargate.

How to use

1. Go to sushi.com/swap
2. Connect your wallet
3. Toggle the “Cross Chain” option
4. Pick your “From” and “To” networks + the assets you want to trade
5. Switch to the appropriate network as needed and complete the swap with your wallet, that’s it!

3. Migrate a username from zkSync to Polygon

Overview

The zkSync Name Service is a fork of the ENS domain system on the zkSync Era layer-two (L2) scaling solution. It’s also integrated with LayerZero, meaning right now you’re able to migrate any registered names from zkSync to Polygon if you so choose. At the moment I’m not sure what the utility of this sort of migration is, but hey, it’s straightforward and easy to test out!

How to use

1. Go to app.zkns.domains
2. Connect your wallet
3. Search for and register your name of choice, this should cost ~0.003 ETH after gas for most names right now
4. Go to the Account Manager page of the ZkNS app and select your domain
5. Toggle the “Crosschain” button, select Polygon as your destination network, and complete the send with your wallet

4. Mint an omnichain NFT on Holograph

Overview

Holograph is an omnichain NFT protocol built on LayerZero tech that allows users to mint or bridge NFTs across a range of different chains, namely Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, BNB Chain, and Avalanche right now. Follow the project’s Twitter to see when new featured open edition (OE) drops are announced!

How to use

1. When a drop is live, go to app.holograph.xyz
2. Connect your wallet
3. Select the network you want to mint on + the number of pieces to mint
4. Press “Mint” and complete the transaction with your wallet
5. That’s it! You should be able to review most if not all of your Holograph mints in your OpenSea profile, too

Zooming out

The LayerZero protocol is serving as a gateway to a new era of cross-chain apps. From bridging crypto with Stargate to minting omnichain NFTs on Holograph, LayerZero is expanding the early boundaries of the blockchain interoperability space. If you want to level up your experience in this frontier, starting with the apps listed above is definitely how I’d take the first steps!

Action steps

• 🌐 Try LayerZero: explore apps like Stargate, Sushi, zkSync Name Service, and Holograph
• 🔄 Catch up on the previous tactic: Staking on EigenLayer Mainnet