5 Things to Know Before You Buy Zilliqa (ZIL)

Zilliqa has been skyrocketing up the list of the top cryptocurrencies, and its metaverse launch could help keep the momentum going.

Zilliqa (ZIL) is the latest example of how quickly fortunes can change with cryptocurrencies. It had a shaky 2021, and its price was trending down until March of this year. Then, it gained nearly 500% in a matter of weeks.

Even with this recent success, Zilliqa is still outside the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap. That has made it popular among investors looking for the next big altcoin. If this cryptocurrency caught your eye or you just want to know what all the hype is about, here's what you need to know.

1. It's a blockchain that uses sharding to improve scalability

Zilliqa is a blockchain platform that can run smart contracts, which are programs built into a blockchain. Developers can use Zilliqa to create decentralized apps (dApps). It has similar capabilities to other programmable blockchains, such as Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), and Solana (SOL).

There's a lot that can be done with dApps, like decentralized finance (DeFi) -- a blockchain alternative to traditional financial services. They can also be used to mint and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or to build NFT marketplaces.

What's unique about Zilliqa is that it's split into multiple portions, called shards. This allows it to handle far more transactions. According to Zilliqa's website, it was the first public blockchain to use sharding.

2. ZIL tokens are its native cryptocurrency

If you're interested in buying Zilliqa, you'll technically be buying ZIL tokens. These are the platform's native cryptocurrency token. They're used for paying transaction fees when using Zilliqa and any dApps that are built on it.

You can also earn rewards on your ZIL tokens by staking them. Staking cryptocurrency is when you pledge it to the blockchain network as collateral and become part of the transaction validation process. In return, you'll receive more ZIL tokens.

3. Its engineers developed a native programming language called Scilla

To ensure the security of their blockchain's smart contracts, Zilliqa's engineers created Scilla. It's short for Smart Contract Intermediate-Level Language.

Scilla is a peer-reviewed smart contract language that has features to minimize security risks. It can help dApp developers identify generic security vulnerabilities and write bug-free code. It also allows them to provide automated mathematical proofs demonstrating the safety of their smart contracts.

4. It recently launched a metaverse

One of the main reasons Zilliqa saw its value increase so much in March was the impending launch of Metapolis. Metapolis is a metaverse powered by Zilliqa, and it held a VIP launch event on April 2, although it still isn't available to the public at the time of this writing.

The metaverse concept is a significant technological development, and metaverse tokens have been drawing attention from investors. There's quite a bit of excitement around Metapolis so far. If it's a hit, that will be great news for Zilliqa.

5. You can find it on a couple of popular U.S. crypto exchanges

Because it's not one of the market leaders, Zilliqa isn't a staple on all the top crypto exchanges yet. That makes it a little trickier to buy, but fortunately, there are options available. If you're in the United States, you can purchase Zilliqa here:

• Binance.US
• Crypto.com

International investors can buy Zilliqa on the main Binance exchange. There's also KuCoin, Gate.io, and several other exchanges that list it.

It's always important to do your research before investing in a cryptocurrency. At this point, you know what Zilliqa is, what makes it special, and why it has been on a hot streak. You may want to take a deeper dive into the technical information on its site or check out other similar projects to see what else is out there.

If you decide to invest, treat it as a long-term investment, and remember that crypto can be very volatile. The price can and likely will fluctuate, which is why you should only buy if you're confident in the potential of Zilliqa.