Hybrid crypto exchange GRVT to debut as zkSync’s ‘first hyperchain’

GRVT (pronounced “gravity”), a hybrid crypto exchange that combines the benefits of centralized and decentralized exchanges, will debut as the first “hyperchain” in the zkSync ecosystem.

GRVT will offer a Robinhood-like user experience and self-management features from Uniswap-like exchanges, Matter Labs, the developer of Ethereum Layer 2 zkSync, said Friday. It will be zkSync’s first ‘Hyperchain’, a custom blockchain that will run as a Layer 3 Validium in the zkSync ecosystem, Matter Labs said.

Validiums are Ethereum scaling networks that look a lot like zk rollups of Layer 2 networks, the main difference being that a zk rollup stores the data on-chain, while Validiums store it off-chain. Because Validiums encrypts data before adding it to the blockchain, it helps protect users from front-running and market manipulation, according to Matter Labs.

zkSync has opened the door to new use cases with platforms like GRVT, a Matter Labs spokesperson told The Block. “There is nothing like building GRVT, neither in the zkSync ecosystem nor beyond,” they said. “Being able to design and deploy custom hyperchains connected via hyperbridges allows teams like those at GRVT to build entirely new use cases,” she added.

GRVT launch

The hybrid crypto exchange is expected to launch its closed alpha version next month and mainnet in the first quarter of next year. The goal is to provide a transaction speed of up to 600,000 transactions per second with less than two milliseconds of latency with zkSync’s “horizontally scalable” infrastructure.

“Scaling horizontally means deploying additional underlying pairs as new hyperchains,” GRVT co-founder and CEO Hong Yea told The Block. “Suppose BTC/USDT perpetual futures is one hyperchain, etc. And we can look at adding other infrastructure components like this as new hyperchains to scale anywhere, because they can interoperate with each other. This allows high-frequency traders to trade more efficiently with high transactions per second, comparable to a central exchange,” Yea said.

GRVT is backed by Matter Labs, CMS Holdings and other investors. An increase was announced $7.1 million in pre-seed and seed funding last month in a share package with a symbolic warrant round at a post-money valuation of $39 million. GRVT’s token is expected to launch later in 2024.