ETH and USDC Pools on Sophon

Summary

This governance proposal aims to establish ETH and USDC pools on Sophon, a consumer-focused chain the ZKsync’s Elastic chain, expanding Stargate’s cross-chain connectivity ecosystem. Sophon requests that the Stargate DAO deploys $0.5 million ETH and $0.5 million USDC as liquidity for Sophon on Stargate for at least 12 months. In return the Sophon Foundation will provide 50 thousand USDC, equivalent to a 5% APY. The Sophon Foundation may request for the Stargate DAO to deploy additional liquidity with the same APY.

About Sophon zkChain

Sophon is a next-generation consumer-focused chain built on the ZK Stack framework, designed to make blockchain technology accessible, intuitive, and seamless for everyday users. As part of the Elastic Chain ecosystem, Sophon leverages zero-knowledge proof technology for scalability, security, and interoperability.

Key advantages of Sophon include:

• Native account abstraction for simplified user onboarding
• Paymaster infrastructure enabling gasless transactions
• Seamless integration with entertainment applications, gaming, and consumer experiences
• A focus on user experience that bridges the gap between traditional web platforms and blockchain technology

Sophon currently has partnerships with leading projects in gaming, sports betting, ticketing, and AI applications, representing a growing ecosystem of consumer-oriented blockchain applications with significant user adoption potential.

Motivation

By integrating with Stargate, Sophon aims to:

1. Enhance Cross-Chain Liquidity: Connect Sophon’s ecosystem with Stargate’s extensive network of supported chains, creating new pathways for liquidity to flow between entertainment and DeFi applications.
2. Improve User Experience: Provide Sophon users with secure, efficient cross-chain bridging capabilities, removing a significant barrier to mainstream adoption.
3. Expand Stargate’s Reach: Introduce Stargate to Sophon’s growing consumer-focused audience, potentially bringing new users and liquidity to the broader Stargate ecosystem.
4. Foster Innovation: Encourage developers building on Sophon to leverage Stargate’s technology for cross-chain use cases, particularly in entertainment and consumer applications.

Proposal Details

To facilitate adoption, the Sophon Foundation will:

• Provide 50 thousand USDC as incentive for $0.5 million ETH and $0.5 million USDC deployed by Stargate as liquidity for at least 12 months.

From a security standpoint, the ETH supply on Sophon is backed by the corresponding balance locked in the ZK Stack bridge contract on Ethereum, shared by other Elastic Chains. USDC is locked in a custom bridge contract to support Circle’s Bridged USDC Standard. This ensures that users can withdraw their assets at any time, also by signing transactions directly on Ethereum.

Marketing and Community Engagement

To drive adoption of Stargate among Sophon users, we will:

1. Launch joint marketing campaigns and educational content highlighting the benefits of cross-chain liquidity for entertainment and consumer applications
2. Integrate Stargate into Sophon’s main interface, making cross-chain bridging an intuitive part of the user experience
3. Work with our partners across gaming, betting, and entertainment to showcase use cases combining their applications with Stargate’s bridging capabilities

Technical Implementation

Upon community approval, we will work closely with the Stargate Foundation to:

1. Deploy the necessary smart contracts on Sophon
2. Seed the pools with the committed $0.5 million each for ETH and USDC
3. Implement appropriate monitoring and safety measures
4. Integrate Stargate into relevant Sophon interfaces and documentation

Conclusion

This proposal represents a meaningful step toward connecting Sophon’s consumer-focused ecosystem with Stargate’s established cross-chain infrastructure. By bringing together Sophon’s emphasis on user experience and entertainment with Stargate’s liquidity network, we can create new opportunities for both ecosystems while advancing our shared goal of mainstream blockchain adoption.

We believe this integration will benefit both communities and help bridge the gap between DeFi functionality and consumer applications. We welcome feedback from the Stargate community and look forward to a productive partnership.