What is Loopring (LRC)?
Loopring (LRC) is a Layer 2 protocol designed to ease Ethereum's transaction bottleneck and strengthen decentralized exchange infrastructure. The project was founded by Daniel Wang in 2017 and went live on the Ethereum mainnet in December 2019.
How does Loopring reduce Ethereum's transaction load?
Loopring is built around zkRollup technology. This approach gathers hundreds of transactions off the Ethereum main chain, compresses them, and submits them as a single cryptographic proof. As a result, each transaction does not require an individual gas fee—the cost is covered collectively. Users keep their assets in their own wallets throughout the process; funds never pass into the custody of an intermediary or exchange.
What roles does the LRC token play in the protocol?
LRC is the native token of the Loopring ecosystem. Transaction fees on the network can be paid in LRC. Token holders can lock their LRC to earn a share of the fees accumulated by the protocol and to participate in governance votes. Anyone wanting to run an exchange on Loopring infrastructure must also lock a certain amount of LRC as collateral. The token's maximum supply is fixed; no new LRC is ever minted.
Loopring's journey from past to present
Loopring stood out as one of the first projects to bring zkRollup technology to Ethereum. Over time, however, it faced intense competition from rival Layer 2 solutions such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and zkSync. In mid-2026, the project shut down its own decentralized exchange due to low user adoption. The protocol infrastructure, however, continues to operate on the Ethereum and Solana networks.
