Zilliqa Price Sees Small Price Bump as New Features for Devs Building on Zilliqa EVM Go Live

Key highlights:

• The Zilliqa team recently released version 3.4.8 of the Scilla plugin for Hardhat, simplifying the development experience for building on Zilliqa.
• Some handy improvements include no longer needing to do manual compilations – the plugin now automates that process.
• It also fixes bugs, adds better event logging for tests, and allows using multiple accounts.

The development of blockchain applications and smart contracts can be a complex process involving several different programming languages, frameworks, and environments. Thankfully, the team behind Zilliqa is continuously working to simplify this process through tools like the Scilla plugin for Hardhat. Their latest update brings valuable new features that developers will find quite handy.

What’s new in v3.4.8 of the Scilla plugin?

In a recent blog post, the Zilliqa team announced the release of version 3.4.8 of the Scilla plugin for Hardhat. This plugin allows developers to test Scilla-based smart contracts right within the Hardhat environment in much the same way Ethers.js handles Solidity. Among the key improvements in the latest version:

• No more manual builds required. Previously, users had to explicitly build Scilla binaries, adding friction. Now, the plugin runs Scilla tools via containers, removing that hurdle. Just have Docker installed and you’re ready to go.
• Various bug fixes and stability enhancements under the hood. Developers will appreciate smoothed over rough edges.
• Event log translators for simpler testing. Chai assertions can now more easily match Scilla events emitted during contract execution.
• Support for multiple Hardhat accounts. Tests involving different addresses now pose no problems.

The latest version of the Scilla plugin for #Hardhat has been released, bringing helpful new features to devs building on Zilliqa EVM!

Check out the latest features in v3.4.8 of the plugin below:https://t.co/NxXw6ZNQbx#Zilliqa #Blockchain

— Zilliqa (@zilliqa) September 8, 2023

Simplifying the development experience

The goal of updates like this is to produce a development experience for Scilla and Zilliqa that closely mimics what Ethereum developers know with Solidity and tools like Hardhat, Truffle and Ganache. Removing frictions around compiling and running Scilla contracts means developers can focus primarily on writing code rather than wrestling with environments.

As the blog post notes, containers have replaced the need for manual builds. For most hackers, this means Scilla is just another language they can use within Hardhat without extra steps. With challenges of setting up Scilla locally now vanquished, the barrier to exploring Zilliqa dApps lowers considerably.

Building interoperability and a thriving ecosystem

It’s clear the Zilliqa team recognizes the importance of tooling in growing an ecosystem. Lowering the burden of blockchain development makes the whole process more approachable and sustainable long-term. Their goal of achieving near feature-parity between Solidity and Scilla development pipelines bodes well for collaborative efforts between the networks down the road.

Interoperability features like treating ZRC-2 tokens as ERC-20s from a smart contract perspective pave the way for asset movement between chains. As these integration points multiply, developers can readily experiment with ideas that span multiple blockchains. An thriving ecosystem benefits all participants through network effects and innovation.

So how has the Zilliqa price reacted currently? As per CoinCodex data, ZIL saw a 24-hour price increase of around 1% over the past day, rising from $0.0163 to its current $0.0165.

From a technical analysis standpoint, Zilliqa’s short-term 50-day moving average is trending downwards according to CoinCodex price forecasts of ZIL. The longer 200-day average also remains in decline. Overall sentiment appears neutral to bearish based on the site’s indicators.

Updates like the latest Scilla plugin for Hardhat make the nitty gritty of blockchain development much less gritty. Simplified environments translate to greater productivity and smarter use of time.