Fraxtal is an EVM-compatible layer 2 rollup chain for Frax Finance. Fraxtal reduces congestion on Ethereum using roll-up technology. Rollups bundle transactions off-chain, compressing data before sending it back to Ethereum..^[2]

Overview

In a January 2024 interview, Sam Kazemian announced the launch of Fraxtal, Frax Finance's layer 2 blockchain. The release is scheduled for the first week of February, with Etherscan providing support on day one through Fraxscan. Kazemian expressed confidence that the launch, coupled with several projects debuting shortly afterward, will mark one of the most significant rollup releases of the year.^[3]

Fraxtal is a modular rollup blockchain (L2) with a "fractal scaling" roadmap. Fraxtal has a number of familiar and novel features:

1. Fraxtal is an EVM equivalent rollup utilizing the OP stack as its smart contract platform and execution environment. Deploying applications is as fast, secure, and cheap as leading Ethereum rollups like Optimism & Base.
2. Fraxtal is a modular rollup. It will have multiple components and middleware for other chains and networks to use, connect to, deploy L3s, and build on top of. Currently, Fraxtal uses a separate data availability module developed by the Frax Core Team.
3. Fraxtal has blockspace incentives (called Flox) that reward users and developers for spending gas and interacting with any smart contract on the network. Every epoch, users who spend gas and developers that deploy contracts where gas is spent earn FXTL points that can later be converted into tokens. For the first time, users are able to earn more rewards than gas they spend and developers can earn more than the gas their dapps use.
4. The native gas token is Frax Ether (frxETH) issued by Frax Finance.

Fraxtal is set to leverage rollups technology, a layer 2 scaling solution. This approach involves executing transactions off the Ethereum mainnet, batching data, compressing it, and then sending it back to the mainnet. The adoption of rollups is a strategic move to address scalability issues and enhance transaction speeds. ^[6]

FrxETH & FRAX as Gas Token

Fraxtal leverages Frax Ether (frxETH) as the designated gas token, providing users with the capability to utilize frxETH to pay for blockspace.
Users have two primary methods to obtain frxETH within Fraxtal through the native L2 bridge. They can bridge either ETH (the gas token on Ethereum mainnet) or frxETH (an ERC20 token on Ethereum mainnet). Bridging either ETH or frxETH through the native L2 bridge results in receiving the native gas token frxETH on Fraxtal. Users bridging back frxETH from Fraxtal receive ERC20 frxETH on Ethereum mainnet.
Bridging Wrapped ETH (WETH) through the native L2 bridge results in receiving WETH on Fraxtal. Keep in mind that WETH cannot be unwrapped into ETH on Fraxtal since ETH itself is replaced with frxETH.^[5]

Fraxtal Point System (FXTL)

The Fraxtal Point System introduces FXTL, a unique ticker representing points within the Fraxtal ecosystem. It plays a crucial role in rewarding and incentivizing participants in the ecosystem including creating and interacting with smart contracts, utilizing new protocols deployed to the chain, and holding specific types of assets/tokens.
The accumulation of these points is tracked and managed through the main FraxtalPoints contract, which serves as the ledger for all FXTL-related transactions and balances. Users can access and review accrued FXTL points via this contract.
FXTL points will be tokenized no later than 12 months after Fraxtal chain genesis. Whether FXTL points will be tokenized as a separate staking token for the chain (FXTL) or convert to FXS tokens at a specified ratio (or a combination of both) will be revealed in the future.

Fraxtal blockspace incentives (Flox)

The Fraxtal Blockspace Incentives system (Flox) rewards users and smart contract developers on Fraxtal. Gas spenders and gas-using smart contracts receive FXTL points based on the Flox Algorithm every epoch (initially 7 days).
The Flox system offers higher incentives for gas usage compared to previous attempts. It rewards both users and contracts, calculates transaction traces, and ranks contract importance based on various criteria.

Flox program uses FXTL as incentive currency to distribute value to users and developers. It goes beyond early transaction fee-sharing models and aligns with sustainable revenue sharing.

Example 1: A swap from USDC to FRAX through a Curve pool using 1inch. Incentives are distributed to 1-inch router contract, Curve pool contract, USDC contract, and FRAX contract.

Example 2: Borrowing FRAX from a Fraxlend pair against WBTC. Incentives go to Fraxlend Pair contract, WBTC contract, FRAX contract, and Chainlink oracle contract.

Future Prospects

With innovative features like the Flox incentive model, designed to encourage the utilization of Fraxtal's limited blockspace, the project aims to attract significant assets and emerge as a leading layer 2 blockchain.^[4]

Curve Partnership

The decentralized stablecoin-focused exchange, Curve Finance, has shown its interest in Fraxtal. Curve intends to deploy its exchange functionalities on the new layer 2 blockchain, further solidifying the project's collaborations.^[1]