Astar Network launches Astar zxEVM on Polygon AggLayer

Author: Tristan Greene, CoinTelegraph; Compiler: Deng Tong, Golden Finance

Japanese blockchain company Astar Network launched Astar zxEVM on March 5, becoming the first to be integrated into Polygon AggLayer Layer 2 blockchain.

Astar zkEVM is a zero-knowledge Layer 2 blockchain designed to enable cross-chain transactions between the Astar and Polygon blockchains. It is integrated through AggLayer, a protocol that supports multi-chain smart contracts by aggregating zero-knowledge proofs (ZK proofs), essentially making the chains appear to be running for the end user as if they were merged into one network Same.

According to a Polygon Labs blog post, AggLayer “brings unified cryptographic security and atomic composability across aggregate chains without sacrificing initiative,” meaning that transactions are remains unchanged during the chain.

In a press release, Astar Network founder Sota Watanabe said that the move is part of Japan’s national technology strategy:

“Our integration of AggLayer and our Continued investment in development solidifies Astar's position as Japan's authority on web3 innovation, entertainment and retail dApps, placing Astar at the forefront of web3 expansion for Japan's corporate, retail and government sectors, accelerating the growth of web3."

AggLayer was reportedly announced more than a month ago to reduce friction for cross-chain users.

Polygon Labs compared the results to a more Internet-like end-user experience. Instead of manually connecting, restoring, and restaging assets to facilitate cross-chain movement, AggLayer essentially does the connections and transformations behind the scenes.  

Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal said in a statement that the beginning of the AggLayer era is an important milestone:

“Today is the day to welcome the community to join the seamless multi-chain ecosystem. An important first step for the system. With Astar and many other ZK-powered chains coming soon, Polygon CDK and AggLayer are ready to bring internet-scale capabilities to the crypto world."