On 15th February 2025, Puffer partnered with Everclear to efficiently migrate 6,200 pufETH to Zircuit from Mainnet.
The results of this partnership speak for themselves: $17 million in transaction volume within just one day- that’s the power of xERC20.
This case study explores how Everclear unlocked partnership between Puffer and Zircuit, showcasing how new chains can easily increase their TVL by helping asset issuers bridge seamlessly.
Background
Zircuit, a new L2 chain, launched a staking campaign on Ethereum last August as part of its pre-mainnet program. Users could deposit various ETH-based assets, including LSTs, LRTs, and among them also Puffer’s pufETH, to earn rewards.
When Zircuit’s mainnet went live, a portion of the staked assets needed to be transferred from Ethereum L1 to the new Zircuit L2.
Everclear, leveraging the xERC20 cross-chain token standard, enabled a seamless transfer of pufETH from Ethereum to Zircuit, supporting both Puffer and Zircuit in the process.
Impact and Results
Cost Reduction
Thanks to the burn-and-mint mechanism of xERC20, assets can be moved seamlessly between chains without requiring liquidity pools or incurring slippage.
Additionally, xERC20 is a bridge-agnostic cross-chain token standard that maintains perfect fungibility while supporting multiple bridges simultaneously.
Unlike traditional bridge-controlled tokens, xERC20 tokens remain fully owned and controlled by their issuers. Issuers can grant bridges permission to mint tokens from the contract, with customizable rate limits ensuring controlled issuance.
Read more about EIP-7281 (aka xERC20)
Traditionally, bridging assets requires deep liquidity pools - especially for large transfers like this one, where around 6,200 pufETH (worth ~$17M at the time) needed to move seamlessly. This reliance on liquidity increases costs and limits efficiency.
By eliminating that dependency and optimizing cross-chain messaging, Everclear reduced costs by 95% compared to conventional methods.
Time
The entire pufETH transfer was completed in just 10 minutes from Ethereum to the Zircuit chain. This efficiency showcases the speed and reliability of Everclear's xERC20 integration compared to traditional cross-chain solutions.
Key Technical Advantages
The Everclear and xERC20 integration provided several key advantages over traditional bridging solutions:
- Efficient Bridging - The burn-and-mint mechanism eliminates the need for liquidity pools, ensuring precise value transfer with zero slippage.
- Fast and Secure Messaging – Optimized cross-chain messaging enables rapid transfers while maintaining high security.
- Quick and Simple Deployment – New chains can be integrated effortlessly, just as xERC20 can be deployed to any EVM-compatible chain, making expansion seamless.
Technical Implementation Details
The implementation process was simple and straightforward for all parties involved, ensuring a seamless migration. Thanks to Everclear's efficient architecture and xERC20’s standardized approach, the setup and execution were completed with minimal effort:
- Chain Integration – Everclear quickly expanded to Zircuit thanks to its flexible architecture.
- xERC20 Deployment – Puffer deployed the xERC20 pufETH token on Zircuit, complementing its existing deployment on Ethereum, Base and BNB.
- Permission Setup – Puffer granted burn-and-mint rights to Everclear’s contract on Zircuit, enabling seamless bridging.
- Execution – The Zircuit team initiated the migration via the Everclear UI, completing the transfer in a single transaction.
Conclusion
Puffer<>Zircuit migration enabled by Everclear is a great example of how asset issuers and chains can provide seamless bridging UX to their users. As the blockchain ecosystem continues to fragment across hundreds of chains, solutions like Everclear's Clearing Layer will be essential for maintaining liquidity efficiency and delivering seamless user experiences.
About Everclear
Everclear coordinates the global settlement of liquidity between chains, solving fragmentation for modular blockchains. As the first Clearing Layer, Everclear is the foundation of the Chain Abstraction stack, powering optimal liquidity settlement for intent protocols and solvers.
