Tezlink and the Future of Tezos X

Over the past few weeks, Tezlink has been one of the hottest discussion points in the Tezos community, often brought up in the context of Tezos X. This week, community member Cryptonio took the initiative to write an in-depth breakdown to help clarify what Tezlink is, how it fits into the broader roadmap, and what it means for builders and users moving forward.

At its core, Tezlink will be a key part of the canonical rollup, the centerpiece of the Tezos X roadmap. Think of the canonical rollup as a massive, non-custodial environment built directly into Tezos, designed to host multiple “runtimes” that share the same secure foundation. Each runtime offers a different view of that environment and Tezlink will be one of them.

Arthur Breitman described it best in Tezos X-plained Episode 8: imagine a single object casting two shadows. One shadow is Etherlink, the EVM-compatible view. The other is Tezlink, the Tezos-native view. Both come from the same source, but they serve different audiences.

That’s the key idea behind Tezlink. It’s not an experimental add-on or a side project. It’s a native execution environment that will live inside the canonical rollup, right alongside Etherlink. Developers who prefer Tezos-native tools like Michelson, SmartPy, or Ligo will be able to build on Tezlink and still connect to everything happening inside Etherlink including DeFi protocols, liquidity, and infrastructure.

In other words, Tezlink bridges what exists today with what’s coming next. It removes the trade-off between building “natively” on Layer 1 or accessing the speed and composability of rollups. Builders can stay within the Tezos ecosystem and still benefit from the low latency, scalability, and interoperability of the Tezos X framework.

And because Tezlink and Etherlink live side by side, they’ll be able to interact directly. A contract deployed on Tezlink will be able to call one on Etherlink, creating a unified environment rather than separate silos.

While the technical details are still evolving, the direction is clear. Tezlink will extend the capabilities of Layer 1 rather than replace it. Governance, consensus, and security will remain anchored at the base layer, while execution expands across multiple interconnected runtimes. Over time, the distinction between “layers” will fade, giving users a seamless experience within Tezos, working faster and more fluidly than before.

For developers who’ve made the Michelson VM their home, Tezlink represents the next step. It’s an invitation to build bigger, faster, and more connected projects without giving up the principles that make Tezos what it is.

The future of Tezos X is modular, open, and interconnected. Tezlink is the bridge that brings it all together and we’re excited to see what developers build with this tech.

This Week in the Tezos Ecosystem

Chainspect Integrates the Tezos Ecosystem

As discussions around Tezlink and Tezos X continue to grow, let’s shift focus to a new way to keep track of Tezos Ecosystem in real time. The Tezos ecosystem is officially live on Chainspect, offering a transparent view of scalability, decentralization, and development activity across both Tezos and Etherlink.

Chainspect provides a unified dashboard where anyone can monitor key network metrics from validator distribution to transaction throughput backed by verified, on-chain data. It’s a live snapshot of how Tezos is evolving: modular, scalable, and built to adapt.

Together, these metrics show an ecosystem gaining momentum on every front. Builders are deploying, users are active, and liquidity is expanding are all signs of a network that continues to grow stronger with each upgrade.

Ebisu Upgrade Activated

Following the growing visibility of Tezos and Etherlink metrics on Chainspect, there’s another major update worth noting on the technical front. The Ebisu upgrade, Etherlink’s fifth kernel release, is now live on mainnet, activated on October 10 at 6:30 AM UTC (block 28,073,013).

This upgrade focuses on performance, stability, and developer compatibility, introducing support for the EVM Prague standard while continuing Etherlink’s evolution as a fast, non-custodial Layer 2 built on Tezos security.

Behind the scenes, Ebisu also replaces the previous SputnikVM with REVM for EVM execution. That switch brings major improvements, increasing Etherlink’s capacity from 8M gas/s to 14M gas/s, while keeping gas prices low at 1 gwei per unit. Developers can also expect a deeper call stack (now matching the full EVM specification at 1,024) and a more flexible system for sequencer key management, allowing smoother operator transitions without governance friction.

The upgrade also includes several developer-facing updates:

• Breaking changes to the FA token bridge events for better indexing compatibility.

• Support for new EIPs, including account abstraction via EIP-7702, cryptographic precompiles (EIP-2537), and calldata cost adjustments (EIP-7623).

• Improved governance tooling, where bakers can now securely vote using dedicated voting keys through governance.etherlink.com.

For bakers, this upgrade highlights the strength of Etherlink’s governance-by-bakers model — thank you to everyone who participated and voted to move Ebisu forward.

Etherlink continues to evolve at a steady pace, extending Tezos’ reach while maintaining the same core values of security, transparency, and community-driven progress.

Tezos Community Events

Art on Tezos: Berlin

Happening November 6–9, Art on Tezos: Berlin is set to bring together over 200 artists, curators, galleries, and platforms for a multi-day celebration of digital creativity, collaboration, and community. It’s the first time so many contributors from the Tezos art ecosystem will gather under one roof and the result promises to be a rich, diverse portrait of the culture that’s been growing since 2021.

With participants like objkt, bitforms, Galerie Met, Office Impart, and The Second-Guess, the event features everything from interactive installations and live performances to film screenings and special curatorial projects. Highlights include:

• A performance by Berlin-based artist allapopp

• TeleNFT’s newest showcase is turning live teletext into on-chain artworks

• Immersive exhibitions and guided tours across the venue

Art on Tezos continues to evolve, and this Berlin event captures the heart of that movement. Make sure you RSVP to attend before space fills up!

🔴 Now Streaming: Building the Retro Man Universe on Tezos with Retro Manni

This week on TezTalks Live, Stu from Tezos Commons catches up with digital artist, storyteller, and world-builder Retro Manni. From art and film to gaming and collectibles, Manni walks us through the evolution of the Retro Man Universe—an ambitious multimedia project built on Tezos. This is Manni’s second time on the show, and the progress he’s made since his first appearance is nothing short of inspiring.

Our guest is Retro Manni, the creative force behind the Retro Man Universe and a passionate builder in the Tezos ecosystem.

🔍 In this episode, we’ll explore:

The Retro Man Vision: How a single idea has grown into an interconnected world spanning music, gaming, collectibles, and more.

Why Tezos: What drew Manni to the Tezos ecosystem and how community support has shaped his creative journey.

Samsara Sneak Peek: A first look at the upcoming game set in the Retro Man Universe—and how it’s being brought to life with Tezos-powered collectibles.

Zero Contracts, Zero Barriers: How Manni is embracing Zero Contracts and Zero Unbound to simplify minting and empower fellow artists.

Creating with Purpose: Lessons from building in Web3, adapting to a shifting NFT landscape, and staying committed to a long-term vision for digital art and storytelling.

Watch the full episode on YouTube.