Gas abstraction layer Zyfi has successfully raised $2 million in a private funding round aimed at advancing native account abstraction on zkSync, ultimately benefiting the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
Addressing Key Challenges in DeFi
Despite significant progress in blockchain and crypto adoption, many users still find tools like self-custodial wallets, such as MetaMask, and executing on-chain transactions challenging. One of the main hurdles in DeFi activities is gas fees—charges paid to miners or validators for confirming transactions.
Zyfi’s Innovative Solution
Zyfi intends to use the capital from this funding round to simplify gas options across various protocols and solutions. The zkSync-powered layer enables users to pay gas fees in Ethereum (ETH) or any ERC-20 token, providing a comprehensive solution to the gas fee issue. This is achieved through native account abstraction, which allows for more flexible and user-friendly transaction processes.
The Potential of Account Abstraction
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has emphasized that account abstraction is crucial for increasing adoption and smoothly onboarding new Web3 users. Standard wallet addresses, known as Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs), have limited functionality. Account abstraction removes these limitations, enabling EOAs to operate like smart contracts. This unlocks features such as customized gas payments, spending limits, and social recovery, offering users greater flexibility and control over their wallets.
Impact and Adoption
According to Dune Analytics, Zyfi’s technology has already facilitated nearly one million transactions for over 110,000 users on zkSync. Zyfi founder Gauthier Vila noted that the investments will help developers focus on enhancing their products for end-users, ensuring a better overall experience.
Investment Support
The private funding round saw participation from notable firms including Everstake Capital, Tenzor Capital, Apvc.capital, Criterionvc, NxGen, Majinx Capital, v3ntures, and Momentum8. This financial backing is set to propel Zyfi’s mission to streamline DeFi interactions and reduce the complexities associated with gas fees.
Conclusion
Zyfi’s recent funding marks a significant step towards addressing one of DeFi’s major pain points. By leveraging zkSync and account abstraction, Zyfi is poised to simplify gas fee management, thereby making DeFi more accessible and user-friendly.