TL;DR version:
Gateway simplifies the development experience of cross-chain universal applications and enables native operations on blockchain networks including Bitcoin. Welcome to explore Gateway and start your construction journey!
ZetaChain’s mission is to build a universal blockchain with blockchain-native access, making crypto as open, diverse, and connected as the Internet. Today, we are excited to announce a major upgrade to the developer experience for universal apps through Gateway — a new interface that will greatly advance ZetaChain’s vision of becoming the unified gateway to the decentralized world.
Key Takeaways
Applications on the universal EVM (i.e. universal applications ) can seamlessly access any blockchain network including the Bitcoin network. Users can directly access the network without switching networks.
Gateway introduces a unified central hub and a single API, which simplifies the complex cross-chain interaction capabilities of general applications and enables effective management between external link contracts and assets in user EOA accounts.
ZetaChain is supporting the development of new applications in the ecosystem, such as universal yield and DEX aggregators, which can use Gateway to simplify complex multi-step operations into single-click operations on the user side. For example, one operation can achieve accept native BTC as collateral on ZetaChain, lend USDC on multiple blockchain networks, transfer funds to cross-chain yield opportunities, and aggregate all rewards to user accounts.
Gateway supports new native network standards such as universal NFTs and universal tokens , empowering creators to issue tokens that can be transferred across chains, and supports managing cross-chain liquidity on a single platform without going through the ZRC-20 protocol whitelist process.
Upcoming upgrades include Solana network integration that supports SPL Token, a move that will make ZetaChain “the first L1 public chain to support cross-chain operations of the three major blockchain networks (Solana, Bitcoin, Ethereum) in a holistic and simplified manner.”
Build universal applications to reach users all over the world
Universal applications on ZetaChain EVM are not limited to a single blockchain network, but can perform seamless cross-chain operations on any blockchain network. Unlike regular smart contracts that only work on their own chain, universal applications can handle contract calls, messages, and token transfers from any chain, and can even initiate corresponding operations on these chains.
For developers, this means that universal applications allow them to orchestrate complex multi-step transactions across different chains, triggered by a single user action, without having to switch between multiple interfaces or deal with different blockchain protocols. The ZetaChain platform provides developers with tools to automate cross-chain interactions, allowing them to focus on the core functional development of the application and provide end users with an on-chain abstract operation experience that is close to one-stop execution of all operations.
Gateway unifies developer and user experience
The Gateway upgrade introduces a unified cross-chain interface - a single universal entry point for developers and users to interact with universal applications on any blockchain.
Advantages for developers: Simplified, extensible framework
1. Unified API interface: Gateway minimizes the processing of complex operations through a unified API, abstracting the characteristics and protocol details of some blockchain networks.
2. Standardized interactions: Each blockchain network has a designated Gateway contract or equivalent entity (such as the Gateway program on Solana or the address on Bitcoin) that provides a standardized method for depositing tokens and interacting with general applications.
3. Universal button for cross-chain calls: With Gateway, on-chain interactions are as easy as pressing a button. For example, a single user transaction can trigger a universal application on ZetaChain to help it exchange BNB for ETH and then purchase NFTs on Ethereum, all in one step.
Advantages for users: unified on-chain experience
With Gateway, users can interact across chains in a single transaction without switching networks. From their preferred blockchain network (such as Bitcoin or Ethereum), users can access universal applications without connecting multiple wallets or using cross-chain bridges. This seamless integration effectively reduces cross-chain fees, enhances operational security, and provides a unified experience on all supported chains.
Gateway improves cross-chain infrastructure on ZetaChain
In the past, developers needed to manage independent TSS addresses, ERC-20 escrow contracts, and connector contracts to achieve cross-chain functionality; now, Gateway unifies these components into a single powerful API interface, providing a clear and consistent approach for calls, deposits, and asset management. This unified approach not only simplifies the development process, but also improves the reliability of cross-chain transactions. In addition, the Gateway interface deployed on ZetaChain can be mirrored on other EVM-compatible chains, providing a unified development and user experience on multiple blockchain platforms.
Gateway allows universal applications to manage global assets
Through Gateway, general applications can now implement complex interactions with connected smart contracts and assets on external blockchain networks on behalf of users. Gateway achieves this goal by extending general smart contracts through withdrawAndCall (an extension of the withdrawal function of ZRC-20 ). Developers can initiate contract call operations without asset transfer or data load, and enjoy the benefits of built-in rollback support.
Users can now seamlessly access and interact with multiple on-chain applications. In other words, Gateway enables an application to aggregate and optimize cross-chain operations on behalf of end users by interacting with dApps only once on ZetaChain. Applications using Gateway can help users avoid switching networks or signing additional transactions.
Gateways New Standard for Enabling
The Gateway upgrade enables a new common standard for chain abstraction.
Universal NFTs
The universal NFT standard on ZetaChain allows developers to create ERC-721 NFTs that run smoothly on multiple blockchain networks. The standard simplifies the cross-chain interaction process, enabling users and developers to directly access and transfer NFTs on supported chains.
Projects built with universal NFTs include: Web3 gaming projects Eureka and Moddio - Eureka, a social game built on the web, allows players to extract in-game assets such as gold currency, ships, survival items, and other supplies by minting tradable NFTs on any chain. Similarly, virtual world creation project Moddio will provide universal NFT functionality support to developers building on its platform.
See YouTube video for a general NFT creation tutorial .
Universal Token Standard
The universal token standard will provide a more flexible and permissionless alternative to the ZRC-20 mechanism for creating tokens that can be seamlessly transferred across chains.
Specifically, the ZRC-20 mechanism relies on a “lock-release model” that requires assets to be whitelisted in the protocol before they can be used across chains. This is significant for native, mature assets like BTC, as it allows users to introduce them into the multi-asset ZetaChain environment.
In contrast, the Universal Token Standard allows developers to define their own token logic (such as minting, burning, transfer) without permission and meet their specific cross-chain transfer needs. This approach eliminates protocol-level whitelists and enables developers to create cross-chain tokens without relying on governance or pre-approved lists.
The Universal Token Standard is a new way to bring native interoperability to token issuance, which can expand the scope of Web3 use cases, and all cross-chain development experiences are supported by the Gateway.
New Universal Apps Enabled by Gateway
The Gateway upgrade makes it possible to develop a new generation of cross-chain applications that were previously impossible.
Universal Dust Aggregator
The Dust aggregator is a highlight application brought by the ZetaChain Gateway upgrade, which solves the problem of small tokens that are scattered and have no usage scenarios on multiple blockchains. The DUst aggregator can consolidate DUST tokens into a single more valuable asset on the chain of the users choice. Using ZetaChains Gateway and other technologies, native cross-chain swaps and token transfers can be seamlessly executed in a single transaction. Its nearly atomic rollback processing and gas optimization in unlocking dormant assets effectively improve the availability and operational efficiency of DeFi.
Universal Yield Aggregator
Amana is a project that aims to simplify the fragmented and complex cross-chain yield mining process and achieve universal yield aggregation. With the on-chain native contract link call function enabled by Gateway, the application allows users to deposit assets from a blockchain network and automatically allocate them to liquidity mining projects on multiple blockchain networks.
For example, a general purpose application on ZetaChain can transfer ETH on Ethereum to a lending protocol on the Base chain on behalf of the user, and can also perform other cross-chain interactions, such as claiming rewards on Binance and moving them to a high-yield application, and then returning these rewards to ZetaChain users. For more information, please visit the project website .
Universal DEX
Eddy Finance and the recently launched ve(3, 3) project Beam DEX have already leveraged universal smart contracts to enable native cross-chain swaps, including support for native BTC tokens. Through new universal token standards and blockchain native contract calls enabled by Gateway, these DEXs can easily support new asset trading routes that connect on-chain applications.
For example, a universal DEX could add support for CBTC on Aerodrome Finance (a DEX faucet on the Base network) and enable users to trade it with ETH on Ethereum through a series of multi-step cross-chain transactions. The Gateway handles all cross-chain interactions in the background, so applications can directly use the output of cross-chain swaps and drive further operations, all through a single, easy-to-use user interface.
Visit Eddy Finance and Beam DEX official websites for more information.
Looking Ahead to Solana Integration and New Upgrades
Development work is underway to expand the Gateway to new networks such as Solana, and the integration will initially support depositing SPL tokens as ZRC-20 tokens on ZetaChain. With the [withdrawAndCall] function already available on the EVM chain, general applications will eventually be able to interact with Solanas native smart contracts and manage rollback workflows, expanding ZetaChains cross-chain capabilities.
Further improvements will include Gateways support for new asset types and improved account abstraction to simplify authentication calls. For users, the benefit of these improvements is that they can easily perform any on-chain operation (such as transferring tokens, purchasing NFTs, etc.) on their preferred wallet and blockchain with a single click.
We look forward to sharing more progress with you during the development of Gateway and ZetaChain, and we will continue to build a universal blockchain that can connect to any blockchain network, committed to providing a seamless user experience and unified liquidity for the next generation of billions of users.
About ZetaChain
ZetaChain is the first universal blockchain with native access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and other blockchains, and is committed to providing a seamless user experience and unified liquidity for billions of users in the future. Through its universal EVM, ZetaChain enables developers to build universal applications that run natively across chains, creating a smooth-running crypto ecosystem from a single platform.
ZetaChain official account can be found at @zetablockchain , and you can also join the official Discord and Telegram related discussions. If you are building a related project based on ZetaChain, you can contact us at partnerships@zetachain.com.
Note: Any projects mentioned in this article are third-party projects and have nothing to do with ZetaChain.
