Matter Labs will make significant changes to the behavior of timestamps, numbers, and hash values on zkSync Era

ChainCatcher message, Matter Labs developer relations engineer Antonio stated on Github that important changes are being made to the behavior of block.timestamp, block.number, and blockhash on zkSync Era. Currently, block.timestamp, block.number, and blockhash return the timestamp, number, and hash of the L1 batch, respectively. After this update is completed, they will return the timestamp, number, and hash of the L2 block, respectively.

Antonio stated, "Many applications require higher time fidelity, which can be achieved by referencing the L1 batch. With these changes, contracts will be able to time at the L2 block level (approximately generated every few seconds), and this information has already been provided on the API, but with the new changes, developers will be able to access it directly in smart contracts. We are currently developing this change and will internally test the update process before transitioning to the testnet and eventually the mainnet."