General

What is ZetaChain?

An EVM-compatible L1 blockchain that connects everything. ZetaChain make it easy to build interoperable dApps that span any chain including Bitcoin. It facilitates cross-chain and cross-layer value transfer, message delivery, and smart contract calls — thus enabling for the first time omnichain dApps (odApps) which can leverage liquidity on multiple networks and read and update states on all connected networks.

Read more about ZetaChain here.

Why is ZETA used as an intermediary token? Are intermediary tokens “bad”?

ZETA is used for many aspects of the network, including as an intermediary token in the case of cross-chain value transfer. The coin is used as gas for the network, just as ETH is used on Ethereum, as well as for maintaining and incentivizing decentralization in the network — staking, bonding, slashing, and so on. These properties provably provide a sustainable foundation to the ZetaChain network's security, longevity, and scalability, especially when compared to many other existing interoperability solutions which can be centralized, poorly incentivized, and unsustainable long-term. Any asset or data can still be transacted across any connected chain. Having ZETA as the denomination of value moving cross-chain also provides ZetaChain an extremely minimized attack surface that is not vulnerable to many of the exploits that many projects in the interoperability space are susceptible to.

Read more about the ZETA token here.

What is ZETA?

ZETA is ZetaChain's native coin, one of the first coins that is natively issued across many chains. ZETA is used for many aspects of the network, including as an intermediary token in the case of cross-chain value transfer. The coin is used as gas for the network, just as ETH is used on Ethereum, as well as for maintaining and incentivizing decentralization in the network — staking, bonding, slashing, and so on. These properties provably provide a sustainable foundation to the ZetaChain network's security, longevity, and scalability, especially when compared to many other existing interoperability solutions which can be centralized, poorly incentivized, and unsustainable long-term. Any asset or data can still be transacted across any connected chain. Having ZETA as the denomination of value moving cross-chain also provides ZetaChain an extremely minimized attack surface that is not vulnerable to many of the exploits that many projects in the interoperability space are susceptible to.

How do fees work on ZetaChain?

A user pays for all fees within a single transaction when performing cross-chain actions through ZetaChain. All fees (ZetaChain network fees, destination gas fees) are bundled in a single transaction.

What is an omnichain dApp?

An omnichain dApp is a decentralized application that functions seamlessly across blockchains and layers through ZetaChain. This can take the form of smart contracts deployed on various chains which interact by passing messages and value through ZetaChain, smart contracts deployed directly on ZetaChain which manage assets on any or all connected chains, or some combination thereof.

Is ZetaChain a "sidechain"?

No, ZetaChain is an L1 smart-contract-enabled blockchain that has chain-agnostic interoperability built in. It is not a sidechain, rollup, or bridge.

How does ZetaChain compare to LayerZero?

ZetaChain is a full Layer 1 blockchain with native cross-chain capabilities built into its consensus layer, while LayerZero is a messaging protocol that connects existing blockchains through external verifiers and executors.

Key differences:

• Architecture: ZetaChain operates as a hub-and-spoke with its own validators using Proof-of-Stake consensus. LayerZero acts as lightweight messaging middleware between chains.
• Security: ZetaChain uses validator consensus with Byzantine Fault Tolerance and Threshold Signature Schemes (TSS). LayerZero relies on customizable Decentralized Verifier Networks (DVNs) and Executors that you choose.
• Bitcoin support: ZetaChain natively supports Bitcoin and non-smart-contract chains through its validator observation system. LayerZero requires smart contracts on both chains, so Bitcoin isn't supported.
• Developer experience: With ZetaChain, you deploy one Universal Smart Contract that can interact with any connected chain. With LayerZero, you deploy separate contracts on each chain and handle message passing between them.

Why choose ZetaChain: For developers building omnichain applications that require Bitcoin integration, gas abstraction, or complex multi-chain logic, ZetaChain offers a fundamentally simpler approach. Deploy once on ZetaChain's EVM and orchestrate atomic cross-chain interactions—including native Bitcoin transactions—from a single contract with automatic rollback handling. LayerZero's customizable security model works well for simple EVM-to-EVM token bridging, but ZetaChain's unified execution layer eliminates the complexity of deploying and synchronizing contracts across multiple chains, while uniquely enabling Bitcoin-native DeFi without bridges or wrappers.

How does ZetaChain compare to Axelar?

ZetaChain is a Layer 1 blockchain with native cross-chain execution built into its consensus layer, while Axelar is a messaging and token-routing network that connects blockchains through General Message Passing (GMP) and gateway contracts.

Key differences:

• Architecture: ZetaChain executes cross-chain logic natively on its own blockchain through Universal Smart Contracts, enabling true atomic composability. Axelar routes messages between chains where application logic runs separately on each source/destination chain, requiring manual state synchronization and coordination.
• Security: Both use PoS validator networks, but ZetaChain validators directly control external chain addresses via TSS with full on-chain consensus. Axelar relies on gateway contracts to verify attestations, adding an extra trust layer at each destination.
• Bitcoin support: ZetaChain offers genuine native Bitcoin integration through validator-run full nodes and TSS—no bridges, no wrappers, no intermediaries. Axelar requires intermediary layers like Stacks and Babylon partnerships, which don't provide direct Bitcoin protocol interaction.
• Developer experience: ZetaChain dramatically simplifies development—deploy one Universal Smart Contract that orchestrates atomic cross-chain logic from a single location with automatic rollback on failure. Axelar requires deploying separate contracts on each chain, managing asynchronous message passing, and manually handling state synchronization and retries.
• Gas handling: ZetaChain's ZRC-20 gas abstraction provides a unified fee model across all chains, dramatically improving UX. Axelar's Gas Service requires prepayment management and still consumes gas on multiple chains.
• Deployment complexity: ZetaChain offers single-deployment omnichain apps with built-in composability. Axelar requires multiple deployments across chains with fragmented state and asynchronous coordination overhead.

Why choose ZetaChain: For developers building the next generation of omnichain applications, ZetaChain's unified execution model delivers superior simplicity, true atomic composability, and native Bitcoin access without intermediaries. Unlike Axelar's messaging middleware approach that requires multi-chain coordination, ZetaChain provides a purpose-built execution layer where you can orchestrate across all chains—including Bitcoin—with the ease of single-chain development.

How does ZetaChain compare to Wormhole?

ZetaChain is a Layer 1 blockchain with native cross-chain execution built into its consensus layer, while Wormhole is a messaging middleware network that connects blockchains through off-chain Guardian attestations.

Key differences:

• Architecture: ZetaChain operates as a purpose-built Layer 1 with its own Proof-of-Stake validators using CometBFT consensus. Wormhole acts as messaging middleware where 19 permissioned Guardians sign Verified Action Approvals (VAAs) off-chain.
• Security: ZetaChain uses on-chain Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus with cryptoeconomic staking and slashing—validators have real capital at risk. Wormhole relies on a Proof-of-Authority model where 13 of 19 Guardians must sign messages, based on reputation rather than economic stake.
• Bitcoin support: ZetaChain natively supports Bitcoin through direct validator observation and TSS signing—no Layer 2s or intermediaries required. Wormhole integrates Bitcoin indirectly through Stacks Layer 2, meaning assets must first exist on Stacks before bridging, adding an additional trust layer.
• Developer experience: With ZetaChain, you deploy one Universal Smart Contract that orchestrates atomic cross-chain logic with unified state and automatic revert handling. With Wormhole, you deploy separate contracts on each chain and manually coordinate asynchronous message passing with state reconciliation across multiple instances.
• Consensus model: ZetaChain achieves cryptographic finality through on-chain consensus where two-thirds of validators must agree. Wormhole uses off-chain Guardian signatures with a fixed permissioned validator set controlled through governance.

Why choose ZetaChain: For developers building omnichain applications that require native Bitcoin support, atomic cross-chain execution, or unified state management, ZetaChain provides fundamentally stronger infrastructure. Its single-deployment model eliminates the complexity of coordinating contracts across chains, while cryptoeconomic security through staking and slashing creates real financial consequences for misbehavior. Most critically, ZetaChain's direct Bitcoin integration enables true Bitcoin-powered DeFi without Layer 2 intermediaries, while Wormhole requires assets to first exist on Stacks L2 before bridging. ZetaChain delivers purpose-built blockchain infrastructure for the omnichain future with mathematically proven Byzantine Fault Tolerance, versus Wormhole's off-chain messaging layer secured by a small permissioned Guardian set.

Is ZetaChain a bridge? How is it different from a bridge?

ZetaChain is not a bridge. At its core, ZetaChain is a blockchain and interoperability smart contract and messaging platform. One can build need-specific bridges through ZetaChain, although ZetaChain has omnichain value transfer built-in. Transferring value through ZetaChain also does not require wrapping of assets. Wrapped assets and centralized vaults are often the points of failure or exploits that result in losses of hundreds of millions of dollars that are not uncommon (Wormhole hack, Poly Network hack). With ZetaChain, all funds at rest are not at risk, because there is no interdependency via wrapping/locking.

What's the difference between ZetaChain messaging and smart contracts?

Messaging allows a developer to send data and value between smart contracts, whether they are on ZetaChain or on connected chains. One can deploy smart contracts on connected chains and just pass messages between them through ZetaChain in a similar manner to other interoperability messaging protocols like LayerZero, but ZetaChain's interoperable smart contracts let developers maintain omnichain logic within a single place, reducing overhead and enabling smart contract logic to control even non-smart-contract chains like Bitcoin and Dogecoin.

Security

How does ZetaChain handle a case where a source TX is reverted (e. g. on a PoW chain due to an attack)?

Upon detection of the very deep re-organization, ZetaChain will halt and the recovery would be a social process between various stakeholders including ZetaChain validators and team, dApps developers, and end users. The dApps developers should build in the capability to resolve inconsistent states due to the very deep re-organization.

Is there an interface where we can run a PoS validator?

Check out the validator docs here.

Testnet and Mainnet

Is ZetaChain mainnet live?

Yes, ZetaChain mainnet is live and fully operational. You can build and deploy Universal Apps to production today. Mainnet supports cross-chain transactions across multiple connected blockchains including Ethereum, Bitcoin, BNB Chain, Polygon, Base, Sui, TON, and others. For development and testing, use our testnet environment which mirrors mainnet functionality or Localnet environment for faster development.

How do I get ZETA?

You can request testnet ZETA in the faucet channel on our Discord server or use the faucet on the command line, learn more in the faucet docs. This testnet ZETA does not and will never have any monetary value. It is solely for testing purposes, so that people can experience the use and power of ZetaChain.

Does testnet ZETA have any value?

No, testnet ZETA does not have any value, and will never have any monetary value. Performing transactions or acquiring ZETA on testnet networks is purely for testing purposes.