Arbitrum, zkSync, Optimism Interaction Tutorial

On September 1, the Ethereum scaling network Arbitrum officially launched the public test version of its mainnet, Arbitrum One, and restricted users from adding new tokens to the cross-chain bridge through a whitelist. In the public test version, the speed of Arbitrum One is limited to 80,000 arbgas per second, and as system stability improves, the team will increase the speed limit.

After the launch of the public test version of the mainnet, the usage of Arbitrum began to surge. As of the time of writing, the number of unique addresses on the Arbitrum network has exceeded 70,000, with 28,000 new unique addresses added in a single day on September 12.

The large number of users participating in Arbitrum is partly due to the low fees. According to L2 Fees statistics, the cost of a single ETH transaction using Arbitrum One is currently $1.46, while the cost on the Ethereum network is about $4.09.

Image source: L2 Fees

On the other hand, it is also in anticipation of the potential issuance of tokens by Arbitrum in the future. Although Steven Goldfelder, co-founder of Arbitrum's development company Offchain Labs, stated in an interview that the launch of the Arbitrum public test mainnet is a step in the right direction, there is still much work to be done before the network can handle a significant portion of Ethereum's transaction load, and there will be "no token issuance in the short term." However, this has not dampened users' enthusiasm for participation.

To this end, Rhythm BlockBeats has summarized the interaction methods for mainstream Layer 2 solutions such as Arbitrum, zkSync, and Optimism mainnets and testnets.

Before interacting, ensure that you have the Chrome browser and the MetaMask wallet extension installed.

Arbitrum

First, add the Arbitrum One network in MetaMask. Click the MetaMask icon in Chrome, then click "Ethereum Main Network" and scroll down to select Custom RPC. The RPC settings are as follows:

Network Name: Arb1

New RPC URL: https://arb1.arbitrum.io/rpc

Chain ID: 42161

Symbol: ETH

Blockchain Explorer URL: https://arbiscan.io

Then, switch MetaMask to Ethereum, go to the cross-chain bridge, select the asset you want to participate in the cross-chain (it is recommended to choose ETH), enter the amount of ETH you want to cross-chain on the left, and click "deposit." After about ten minutes, you can receive the cross-chain assets on Arbitrum One, switch to the Arb1 network, and click "withdraw" on the right to extract to your wallet.

It is important to note that withdrawing tokens from Arbitrum One to the Ethereum network requires waiting for about 7 days. Interested users can also interact using the Arbitrum version of Uniswap, but currently, the liquidity and variety of tokens on the Arbitrum version of Uniswap are still limited, so it is recommended to try with a small amount.

Since Arbitrum One is still in the testing phase, it is not recommended to attempt large amounts.

zkSync

First, go to the zkSync official website and click "Open wallet," then select and connect MetaMask. Click "Deposit," choose the token you want to cross-chain, and enter the amount of the cross-chain token. Finally, click "Deposit" again, and after a few minutes, you will see your assets on zkSync.

Then, you can use zkSync for transfers. It is recommended that users create two accounts to test transferring between each other. Of course, before transferring, you need to register the public key to "Activate," which also requires consuming a certain amount of gas fees.

Additionally, you can also make Gitcoin donations through zkSync.

Optimism

The interaction method for Optimism is similar to Arbitrum; you need to first add the Optimism RPC network in MetaMask, with the following parameters:

Network Name: optimism

New RPC URL: https://mainnet.optimism.io

Chain ID: 10

Symbol: ETH

Blockchain Explorer URL: https://optimistic.etherscan.io

In the Optimism cross-chain bridge, click "CONNECT" to connect your wallet, select the asset you want to participate in the cross-chain (it is recommended to choose ETH) and the amount, and click "DEPOSIT." After a few minutes, you will receive the cross-chain assets. Then, you can switch to the Optimism network to check your asset status.

Similarly, after crossing to Optimism, you can also try the Optimism version of Uniswap. However, there are also risks associated with using Optimism.

Currently, Arbitrum, zkSync, and Optimism do not have clear token issuance plans, so interactions are more of an experiment.