- Introduction.
Layer 2 (L2) solutions have firmly entered the life of almost every DEFI user. ZKSwap solutions are relevant now and will be relevant in the future, as the cost of transactions in Ethereum is not going to go down. Let’s take a closer look at the test version of the ZKSv3 protocol and evaluate current innovations and how it feels to use it.
- UI and UX.
The first thing the average user sees is the appearance. As we see the installation of the design on light colors, which is easier for perception and fully consistent with modern trends in DEFI design. As we remember the past versions of the protocol were dark shades, so we can say that ZKS got a new birth. The most important thing is that the basic functionality - the tabs “wallet”, “trade” and “pools of liquidity” remained without major changes, this is a big plus, the user does not need to re-learn.
The most interesting thing is the brand new tab “NFT Wallet”. Here your NFTs are collected on the second layer, and it is also possible to move NFTs from L1 to L2. Here we should stop. Replenishment is implemented through manual entry of address and NFT’s id, which may create difficulties for new users with insufficient experience. I think you should introduce a visual display of all your NFTs on L1 as a list with thumbnails.
However, it is not without its oddities. As in past versions of the protocol, there is a logical error that can be confusing to new users. I think you know that fractional numbers are used differently in different countries, some use a comma, some use a dot. ZKSwap in turn tries to use them simultaneously.
- NFT - non-fungible token.
Perhaps the most important change and the most anticipated is NFT. Creating, buying, selling, and moving NFTs without paying for gas, and immediately in your wallet without the need for registration or initial listing fees.
The first thing I noticed was the ability to create a personal profile, and the installation of your profile image and header requires no payment at all and works outside of the blockchain. This is the right solution, which allows the user to express himself without unnecessary costs.
I created several NFTs without problems, it is possible to upload different file formats, you are given full freedom and that’s great. However, when minting my first NFT I got a message - “not enough funds”. At the same time you have no way to know how much it costs to mint a NFT, I think you should add such information to the creation menu. Of course, you can choose the token that will be used to pay the commission, but it doesn’t give you an understanding of the amount of the commission.
Let’s turn to the main page of the NFT. Immediately we see a carousel-slider of a selection of some of the users’ works, but for some reason I do not understand the principle of selection of NFTs, many of them were of low quality, such as inappropriate memes or plagiarism. I immediately thought about the need to add filters for sorting, as well as activity indicators, such as views and likes. This should greatly improve interaction with the site. It is also worth introducing verified collections to rule out possible forgeries.
Although this is a test version of the protocol, I will note a few bugs and oddities that do not cause discomfort when using, but have their place.
On the main page you can not get to the tabs “my profile” and “transactions” because they are overlapped by the NFT carousel, you need to work with the layers.
When you are in your profile, you see your NFTs and see the “sell” button, but it does not work. To sell, you must go to the “sell NFTs” section on the top menu. At the same time, if your NFT is already on sale, the “cancel” button works. It is necessary to improve this point.
My personal opinion about the “see more” buttons. The user is hoping to see a revealed list of all operations, but when clicked, the explorer opens. Perhaps we should rename the buttons to “see everything in explorer” or something else.
- Explorer.
Yes, in this version of the protocol the explorer deserves special attention. In my personal opinion, ZKSwap has the most user-friendly explorer of all the L2 and even L1 solutions. It is the first explorer that is user friendly, it is easy to understand and track your operations. However, in the new version, ZKS have been able to outdo themselves, as NFTs are now displayed directly in the explorer as images rather than text tokens. You won’t see something like this in any other explorer.
- Conclusion.
I am acquainted with ZKSwap since the first version and I am pleased to see how the project is developing in step with the times, there are new trends DEFI, NFT and many other things. My personal evaluation of the current version is 5/5, the work done is tremendous. However, you can never stop there, and I know the ZKSwap team can do even better. All that’s left to do is tweak a few little things and get out there. Thank you for your attention.
Wallet - 0xc918E95EaeB923A05d2D87A222066ea89192b08C