Zilliqa (ZIL)

Overview

Zilliqa (ZIL) is a public layer‑1 blockchain designed to scale. It was one of the first networks to bring sharding from research into a live mainnet, allowing the chain to split work across many groups of nodes so transactions can be processed in parallel. Over time the project has added a secure-by-design smart‑contract language called Scilla and native support for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), so developers can deploy both Scilla and Solidity contracts. In 2025 the project began rolling out “Zilliqa 2.0,” a major architectural upgrade that shifts the network to proof‑of‑stake (PoS) with a modern consensus protocol and introduces “x‑shards” for app‑specific scaling. ZIL is the native asset used to pay fees, secure the network through staking, and interact with applications across the ecosystem. (zilliqa.com)

What makes Zilliqa stand out

• Parallel processing via sharding for higher throughput and low fees.
• Finality within seconds under the Zilliqa 2.0 design, thanks to the Pipelined Fast‑HotStuff consensus protocol.
• Dual smart‑contract support: Scilla (safety‑focused) and Solidity/EVM (tooling‑friendly).
• Clear token standards (ZRC‑2 for fungible tokens, ZRC‑6 for NFTs, ZRC‑7 for NFT metadata) that make it easier to build wallets, marketplaces, and DeFi protocols. (roadmap.zilliqa.com)

History & Team

Zilliqa traces its roots to the National University of Singapore. The whitepaper was published in 2017, followed by a public testnet in 2018. The mainnet launched in early 2019, and staking went live in 2020. In 2023, a major update added EVM compatibility to mainnet, allowing MetaMask and other familiar tools to work with ZIL. In 2025 the team began migrating the network to Zilliqa 2.0, a full protocol overhaul centered on PoS and faster finality. (zilliqa.com)

The founding group includes technologists and entrepreneurs such as Juzar Motiwalla and Max Kantelia, alongside early contributors Amrit Kumar, Xinshu Dong, and Prateek Saxena from NUS. From its base in Singapore, the project has attracted backing from venture firms and institutional vehicles over the years. Early token generation raised roughly $22 million, and investor lists across public trackers show participation from firms like Polychain Capital, Kenetic Capital, IOSG Ventures, NGC Ventures, and others. In 2021, Valkyrie launched the Valkyrie Zilliqa Trust to provide exposure for qualified investors; in 2024, Abra acquired Valkyrie’s private trust business, which included the Zilliqa trust. (blog.zilliqa.com)

Technology & How It Works

From sharded pBFT to PoS with Fast‑HotStuff

Zilliqa 1.0 combined identity‑establishing proof‑of‑work with practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (pBFT) inside many shards plus a Directory Services (DS) committee to assemble final blocks. This design gave the network instant finality at the shard level and higher throughput as shards were added. (dev.zilliqa.com)

Zilliqa 2.0 replaces mining with a permissionless delegated proof‑of‑stake system and upgrades consensus to Pipelined Fast‑HotStuff. This HotStuff‑family protocol achieves linear messaging overhead and fast finality: in the common case, a block becomes final after two subsequent blocks (around five seconds at ~2‑second block times). The new validator model simplifies the old DS/shard layers into a leaner set of PoS validators while keeping strong Byzantine fault tolerance. (roadmap.zilliqa.com)

X‑shards and modular scaling

A headline feature of Zilliqa 2.0 is “x‑shards,” sovereign, configurable shards that can choose their own parameters (including PoS or PoA for consensus) and talk to each other and to mainnet. This lets enterprises or apps deploy dedicated chains tuned for their needs while still enjoying seamless inter‑shard messaging. (blog.zilliqa.com)

EVM and Scilla together

Zilliqa supports two execution environments:

• Scilla: a safety‑first language built for formal verification and easier auditing.
• EVM: native EVM support on mainnet since April 2023 enables Solidity contracts, MetaMask, Hardhat, Truffle, and related tooling.

This dual‑runtime approach aims to combine Scilla’s rigor with the large EVM developer base. (zilliqa.com)

Token standards and NFTs

Developers issue fungible tokens with ZRC‑2 and NFTs with ZRC‑6, while ZRC‑7 standardizes NFT metadata. These standards add features like batch operations and royalty interfaces for marketplaces. (blog.zilliqa.com)

Interoperability

Bridging on Zilliqa has evolved. The original ZilBridge (powered by Carbon and Poly Network) handled Ethereum–Zilliqa transfers. In late 2024 the ecosystem began migrating to X‑Bridge, an EVM‑native bridge built on Zilliqa’s Universal Cross‑Chain Broker (UCCB). In February 2025, an exploit affecting certain bridged assets (zETH and zBNB) was disclosed and later mitigated, with the bridge returning under limited operations while fixes rolled out. (blog.zilliqa.com)

Tokenomics & Utility

Supply and distribution

ZIL has a fixed maximum supply of 21 billion. At launch, 60% of tokens were created for the token generation event, with the remaining 40% issued over time through network rewards under the original design. That issuance, reward cadence, and related parameters have been revised across upgrades and proposals, but the fixed cap remains central to the asset’s design. (gov.zilliqa.com)

Staking and rewards

Staking on Zilliqa started as a way to incentivize Staked Seed Nodes (SSNs), which serve public APIs and maintain a full ledger archive. Users delegate ZIL to an SSN and share a portion of the rewards. With Zilliqa 2.0, staking shifts to a PoS validator model that directly secures the network. Rewards are paid per block with a split that incentivizes both proposing and voting performance by validators, while delegators can continue to stake through validator pools. An unbonding period applies to withdrawals. (blog.zilliqa.com)

A one‑year governance token, gZIL, was also minted alongside staking rewards when non‑custodial staking launched in October 2020. The maximum possible supply was 722,700 gZIL, and minting ended after the one‑year program. gZIL represents voting power in community governance. (dev.zilliqa.com)

Network fees and on‑chain uses

ZIL is used to pay gas for transfers and smart‑contract calls on both the Scilla and EVM execution layers. The token also underpins many ecosystem functions, such as liquidity provision on ZRC‑2 DEXs, payment inside apps, and staking‑based governance. Real‑world asset and payments projects use ZRC‑2 tokens as well; for example, the Singapore‑dollar stablecoin XSGD and the Indonesian‑rupiah stablecoin XIDR exist as ZRC‑2 tokens on Zilliqa. (dev.zilliqa.com)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Zilliqa’s ecosystem spans DeFi, creator tools, gaming, and enterprise pilots.

• DeFi: ZilSwap is the flagship AMM/DEX for ZRC‑2 tokens and also hosts token launches and NFT features. Liquid staking (e.g., stZIL) adds flexibility for stakers. (docs.zilswap.io)
• Stablecoins and payments: StraitsX’s XSGD and XIDR run on Zilliqa as ZRC‑2 tokens, enabling SGD‑ and IDR‑denominated on‑chain transfers and settlement. (support.straitsx.com)
• NFTs and creator economy: With ZRC‑6 and ZRC‑7, creators can mint NFTs with built‑in royalty support and standard metadata. Zilliqa has highlighted content‑creator platforms, on‑chain art experiments, and marketplaces built on these standards. (blog.zilliqa.com)
• Developer experience: EVM compatibility lets teams bring Solidity dApps and tools. MetaMask can connect directly to Zilliqa’s EVM network, lowering the barrier for users and builders. (blog.zilliqa.com)
• Interoperability and app‑specific chains: X‑Bridge and the UCCB design aim to connect Zilliqa to other EVM networks. X‑shards are intended for apps that need dedicated throughput or compliance‑tuned environments while staying connected to mainnet. (github.com)

Advantages & Challenges

Advantages

• Scalability by design: Sharding and, in Zilliqa 2.0, configurable x‑shards give room to grow while keeping fees low. (zilliqa.com)
• Fast finality: Pipelined Fast‑HotStuff targets finality in seconds, improving UX for payments, DeFi, and games. (roadmap.zilliqa.com)
• Dual‑language smart contracts: Scilla supports safer patterns and formal verification; EVM opens the door to mainstream tooling and developer mindshare. (zilliqa.com)
• Clear token standards: ZRC‑2 and ZRC‑6/ZRC‑7 make fungible and non‑fungible assets easier to integrate across apps and wallets. (blog.zilliqa.com)

Challenges

• Two developer stacks: Supporting both Scilla and Solidity can split documentation and examples, making onboarding more complex. (zilliqa.com)
• Migration complexity: Moving from Zilliqa 1.0’s SSN model to full PoS validators and new staking contracts introduces learning and operational steps for users and node operators. (roadmap.zilliqa.com)
• Interop hardening: Bridge operations require careful security; the X‑Bridge incident in early 2025 shows that cross‑chain systems must be engineered and monitored with extra care. (blog.zilliqa.com)
• Competitive landscape: Zilliqa competes with established smart‑contract platforms and L2s that also promise high throughput and low fees.

Where to Buy & Wallets

Zilliqa can be purchased on major centralized exchanges. ZIL is available on Binance, OKX, KuCoin, Gate.io, HTX (formerly Huobi), Bybit, and the Korean exchange Upbit. Availability varies by region and product, but these platforms list ZIL spot markets. (academy.binance.com)

ZIL can be stored in several wallets. Native Zilliqa wallets include ZilPay (browser), Moonlet (mobile), Torch Wallet (mobile/extension with staking features), and desktop or web options like Zillet and Guarda. Ledger hardware wallets support ZIL, and MetaMask works with Zilliqa via the network’s EVM endpoint. The official wallet page lists options and whether they support staking. (zilliqa.com)

Regulatory & Compliance

Zilliqa is a utility‑token‑based blockchain network with its core team and many ecosystem partners operating from Singapore, a jurisdiction with active digital‑asset rules and licensing for payment tokens and stablecoin issuers. For example, StraitsX issues the XSGD and XIDR stablecoins under regional regulatory frameworks and supports ZRC‑2 versions of each on Zilliqa. Trading access depends on the exchange and local rules; different venues list ZIL in different jurisdictions, and listing coverage in the United States has historically been more limited than in Asia or Europe. (support.straitsx.com)

From a faith‑based perspective, many Islamic finance commentators view base‑layer staking as generally permissible when rewards are compensation for securing the network rather than interest on a loan. Under Zilliqa’s model, validators (and delegators via pools) help run the network and receive variable rewards tied to block production and participation, which aligns with opinions that treat staking returns as payment for technical work. That said, scholarly opinions can vary across schools and regions, so views are not uniform across the entire community. (roadmap.zilliqa.com)

Future Outlook

Zilliqa 2.0 lays out a roadmap that continues beyond mainnet migration. Planned upgrades include production‑ready x‑shards, cross‑chain smart contracts, inter‑shard state access, smart accounts, and light clients. The shift to PoS and EVM support is meant to lower costs, cut energy use, and widen the developer funnel. If x‑shards deliver easy, configurable scaling and if bridges and cross‑chain messaging mature, Zilliqa could become a strong home for applications that need fast finality and predictable fees, from creator tools and games to stablecoin‑based payments and tokenization. (roadmap.zilliqa.com)

Summary

Zilliqa began as an academic effort to bring sharding to a public blockchain and has grown into a modular smart‑contract platform with two execution layers, clear token standards, and a path to app‑specific scaling. The ZIL token pays for transactions and powers staking. With the 2.0 migration to PoS and Pipelined Fast‑HotStuff, the network targets fast finality, low fees, and a simpler validator model, while x‑shards aim to give builders dedicated capacity without leaving the ecosystem. For users and developers who want speed, EVM tooling support, and a safety‑minded contract language in the same platform, Zilliqa offers a distinct blend of performance and rigor that continues to evolve. (roadmap.zilliqa.com)