What is ZUL

ZUL is a privacy Layer 2 that settles to Solana. It is a real chain, not a simulation of one: it produces its own blocks on a fixed 500 ms slot, executes standard Solana transactions through the same SVM pipeline validators use, charges fees in its own native gas token ZUL, and anchors its state to Solana with settlement records and full data-availability batches.

On top of that chain sits the reason it exists: an enshrined, multi-asset zk shielded pool. Value enters publicly, moves privately, and exits publicly — ownership and amounts in between are protected by Groth16 proofs rather than by trust in an operator.

What ZUL is

• Own block production— a single proof-of-authority sequencer, one block per 500 ms slot.
• Real SVM execution — System, SPL Token, Token-2022, and user-deployed BPF programs run unmodified.
• Native gas— the chain's lamport unit is ZUL (9 decimals). SOL does not exist natively on the L2.
• Privacy as a builtin— the shielded pool is a native program in the node, with proof verification on the node's own CPU budget, not inside a smart-contract VM.
• Settlement and DA on Solana — state roots and compressed transaction batches are posted to L1 programs.

What ZUL is not (v1)

• Not a decentralized sequencer — block production is one node.
• Not fraud-proven on-chain — settlement is optimistic at stage 0; the challenge window is procedural. See Trust model.
• Not general private compute — privacy scope is shielded value transfer, not Aztec-style private contracts.