Zyfi's Purpose: Democratizing Web3 UX As A Common Good

The following content will show how Zyfi came to be and how we are moving through a complte full on-chain governance with the release of our token.

Achieving Web3 Adoption

The evolution of the internet began by addressing challenges incrementally. I remember the early days when I would connect my phone to my computer to dial-up and access the internet. This was followed by the introduction of ADSL, then 3G, and eventually, high-speed internet became accessible almost everywhere, revolutionizing how we connect and interact. This is where we are at in terms of user experience and we need to improve. For Web3 to achieve scalable growth, several key elements must align and ultimately, the activation of the natural flywheel effect will happen?—?commonly referred to as “Adoption.”

However, adoption is still lacking due to several factors:

• Security concerns: Many users are hesitant to engage due to high-profile hacks and a general lack of trust in decentralized systems.
• Regulatory uncertainty: Inconsistent or unclear regulations across different jurisdictions create barriers to entry for users and businesses.
• Fragmented ecosystems: The lack of interoperability between different blockchain networks makes it difficult for users to move seamlessly between platforms and services.
• Poor user experience: Complex interfaces and the need for gas fees create friction, deterring users, especially those new to Web3.

Zyfi is dedicated to enhancing the current web3 user experience, aiming to contribute our building block towards driving widespread adoption of decentralized technologies.

The Story of Zyfi

It all started when we were developing a DeFi super-app and soon discovered that one of the biggest UX hurdle for both new and existing users was managing gas fees. I clearly remember receiving calls from clients who, after purchasing USDT with fiat, didn’t realize they needed gas to swap. As a user myself, I also shared their frustration, often finding myself running out of gas. As the saying goes, “build a product you would use,” but our vision went beyond that—we aimed to solve a critical issue for newcomers as well. This became our central focus. We knew we had to start small, and the first step was simplifying the user experience by abstracting gas fees, making it easier for both seasoned users and those just entering the space.

Enabling a Gas Free Experiences

It marked the beginning of account abstraction, and our research led us to ZKsync and its native account abstraction. For us, it was a breakthrough to discover that every wallet on ZKsync was a smart wallet by default—an enormous opportunity, especially since most users today still rely on EOAs. However, we noticed that despite this potential, many DApps and protocols were not leveraging paymasters. Instead of using a standardized solution, they were building their own custom systems, essentially reinventing the wheel.

Recurring issues were:

• Custom Approaches: Teams were focused on creating their own bespoke solutions, often spending significant time and resources.
• Lack of Awareness: Many developers were unaware of paymasters or their full capabilities.
• Implementation Challenges: Some struggled with the complexity of implementing paymasters effectively.
• Missed Optimization: Several implementations were incomplete or not fully optimized, leading to missed opportunities.

As a result, these projects were missing out on a streamlined, scalable, standardized gas abstracted solution that could have saved them both time and effort.

Introducing Zyfi’s Paymaster-As-A-Service

When it comes to abstracting gas, DApps have the following options:

• Enable users to pay gas with any token
• To fully sponsor it based on any custom logic
• Having a third-party to sponsor gas for users on their dApps (Foundation, NFT collections, Brands)

All of this is powered by an API that abstracts the complexities of implementing a payamster, enabling protocols to focus on building their core products without worrying about gas intricacies.

What we have achieved

• Processed over 1.5 million transactions and onboarded over 200,000 users across the ZKsync ecosystem.
• Successfully integrated into over 30 projects, including PancaskeSwap, Syncswap, KOI Finance, Zerolend, Mithrareum, and many others.

And enabled:

• Gas payments with over 80 tokens, allowing users to pay with any token that has liquidity, creating a seamless experience.
• The first signature-based paymaster flow on ZKsync, enabling off-chain price fetching while remaining trustless, and providing DApps with flexible gas sponsorship options.
• The creation of a permissionless multi-signature paymaster which allows protocols to integrate a paymaster into their ecosystem without the need to deploy a paymaster or trust a 3rd party.

The future of Gas Abstraction

Our experience within the ZKsync ecosystem has provided us with key insights into what users and projects need to effectively abstract gas fees. We've observed that gas fees are so minimal they can easily be sponsored by third parties like NFT projects, DApps or foundations—significantly incentivizing user adoption. To explore this potential, we've partnered with over 10 NFT collections to sponsor gas fees for users across various platforms on ZKsync.

This model of NFT gas sponsorship has revealed a future where brands, DApps, or foundations routinely cover gas fees, removing a major barrier to entry and driving higher adoption. We envision gas abstraction becoming a powerful promotional tool, allowing sponsors—whether DApps, the ZKsync foundation, or brands—to create a seamless, gas-free experience for users while promoting their offerings. This frictionless on-chain experience will be the foundation of broader blockchain adoption.

What is next?

ZKsync recently introduced Elastic Chains, a scalable network of ZK chains (rollups, validiums, volitions) with seamless interoperability and a unified UX. Nearly 20 ZK chains are expected by year-end, and we’ve already deployed paymaster contracts and partnered with chains like Cronos zkEVM, Abstract, Heurist, and Nodle to offer gasless experiences. We're committed to enhancing the developer experience, adding features like Sybil detection, and expanding our product across the entire ZKsync ecosystem.

Initially, ZKsync was the only EVM chain with native account abstraction, enabling Zyfi to deliver its familiar paymaster experience. Now, we're also exploring multi-chain expansion to extend our offering across the EVM ecosystem. A key part of this is EIP 7702, expected in the Ethereum Pectra Hardfork in late 2024 or early 2025.

We want to keep pushing decentralization and the governance of Zyfi a step further by introducing a token. This will foster an ecosystem where protocols and users have a voice to create the best abstracted experience in Web3. We want DApps to be limited by their imagination when thinking about UX, not about technology limitations.

Gauthier and The Zyfi Team