Stakely joins Union as a validator: A technical overview and participation guide
On September 4, 2025, Union launched its mainnet—an interoperability layer based on zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs and on-chain consensus verification, without relying on oracles, multisigs, or MPC.
And of course, our validator is already live and ready for you to stake your U tokens and contribute to the security of the protocol!
In this article, we explain what Union is, why we were convinced by its technical approach, and what makes it stand out in today’s Web3 ecosystem.
What is Union?
Union is a ZK interoperability network that brings IBC “everywhere”: it enables message passing, asset transfers, and state synchronization between L1s, L2s, and rollups using light clients and on-chain verified ZK proofs.
What Makes Union Different?
Many interoperability protocols rely on centralized or rigid architectures. Union breaks that paradigm with:
- On-chain verification with no trusted third parties. Based on consensus verification and zero-knowledge proofs, destination chains verify—within their own logic—that messages come from the source chain, with no oracles, multisigs, or MPC involved.
- Native multichain interoperability. Works across different execution environments (Ethereum, Cosmos, rollups) using Union light clients that validate ZKPs from other chains’ states.
- “Conditional” light clients for L2s. For rollups (e.g., Scroll), Union introduces conditional light clients that consider the settlement condition of the L2 on its L1. This extends IBC beyond Cosmos with clear guarantees for L2s.
- True modularity with specialized components: CometBLS (BLS signature-based consensus optimized for ZK), Galois (fast and cost-efficient consensus proving), and Voyager (modular relayer), all designed as interchangeable building blocks.
- Truly cross-chain governance and staking. Through the Crosschain Governance module and Escher’s eU liquid staking token, U holders can stake to Union validators from Ethereum (and other connected chains) without using manual bridges or leaving their ecosystem. This reduces liquidity fragmentation and enhances DeFi composability.
- The role of validators (like Stakely). Validators produce blocks and verify ZK proofs during Union’s consensus process, earning rewards in return. Provers (Galois) are responsible for generating the proofs.
Union Architecture
Union is built on the IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol), but with enhancements that make it faster, more flexible, and more secure. This includes support for direct and recursive connections, parallel channels, and efficient cryptographic proof validation.
Its architecture is composed of three core components:
- CometBLS: a consensus engine based on BLS signatures that reduces verification costs (including verification within ZK circuits).
- Galois: the ZK proof system for consensus: generates proofs for 128-validator sets in ~7 seconds, and can do so on laptops (~5 GB RAM), supporting prover decentralization.
- Voyager: the modular relayer that implements the transport logic between light clients in different environments.
In addition, Union implements conditional light clients for L2s with settlement on another layer (e.g., Scroll), further expanding IBC’s practical reach beyond Cosmos.
U Tokenomics: How Union’s Token Works
The U token is Union’s economic core: it secures the protocol via Proof-of-Stake, enables participation in governance, and rewards both validators and stakers.
With an initial supply of 10 billion and a current circulating supply of 1.919 billion (19.19%), U is designed to support long-term ecosystem growth.
Altogether, nearly 60% of the token supply is allocated to the community, fostering decentralization from day one. This distribution includes a Genesis Drop, growth programs, developer incentives, and a DAO treasury that puts control in the hands of users.
Staking for U is already live on mainnet, and early participants are starting to earn rewards. Soon, the liquid token eU will also go live, enabling an even more flexible staking experience. However, some features—like unstaking—will be gradually enabled as the network rollout progresses.
Why Is Stakely Validating on Union?
At Stakely, we believe in secure, permissionless, and efficient interoperability, aligned with our vision of a modular and multichain ecosystem. That’s why by validating on Union:
- We contribute security and decentralization to a ZK network centered on IBC.
- We operate with high availability and multichain expertise.
- We open up participation to our community through U staking.
Stake your U tokens with Stakely and become an active part of this new interoperability standard in Web3!
