Etherlink Rolls Out Third Protocol Upgrade, Calypso, on Mainnet

Etherlink has launched its third protocol upgrade, Calypso, on the mainnet to significantly enhance the performance of the Tezos layer 2 network.

The Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible layer 2 solution, which operates on Tezos (XTZ), revealed that the Calypso upgrade was live on the mainnet on March 12. This development came a few weeks after the EVM-compatible L2 was deployed on testnet.

Prior to the mainnet launch, there was a governance vote by Tezos bakers, who are essential ecosystem components that function in conjunction with Tezos nodes.

The deployment of Calypso has resulted in improvements such as increased network speed, resilience, and efficiency for developers of decentralized applications. It also means quicker XTZ withdrawals from Etherlink to Tezos.

Etherlink's non-custodial platform, powered by Tezos smart rollup technology, enables seamless integration of dApps and supports Ethereum ecosystem tools such as wallets and indexers. With the latest upgrade now live on mainnet, its performance could see up to a 30x improvement—a significant advancement in the world of decentralized finance and exchanges.

Calypso also brings about improved smart contract storage and governance updates. It sets the stage for enhancements to non-custodial and trustless token bridging.

At present, users can bridge the native Tezos token tez from the layer 1 chain to Etherlink and vice versa. Bridging XTZ from Etherlink to Tezos L1 is referred to as withdrawing, while bridging XTZ from the layer 1 chain to the Etherlink network is called depositing. In both scenarios, XTZ is the native token on both chains.

"Transferring tez from Etherlink to Tezos L1 currently feels like being stuck in traffic. Calypso introduces a new precompiled contract entrypoint, paving the way for much faster withdrawals," Tezos stated in February before this mainnet rollout.

Etherlink introduced its alpha testnet in 2023 and beta in early 2024, with significant roadmap milestones including the integration of oracle price feeds, the LayerZero bridge, and a decentralized sequencer.

Meanwhile, Tezos recently released its 17th upgrade with the activation of Quebec, which introduced faster transactions, improved staking mechanics, and strengthened token issuance.