The Astar Network releases zxEVM on Polygon AggLayer

AggLayer officially incorporates the novel zero-knowledge layer-2 chain first.

Among the first layer-2 chains to link with Polygon’s AggLayer, the Japanese blockchain business Astar Network debuted Astar zxEVM on March 5.

Enabling cross-chain transactions between the Astar and Polygon blockchains is the goal of Astar zkEVM, a zero-knowledge layer-2 chain. AggLayer integrates it, and it seems to end users as if the chains had merged into one network since it allows multichain smart contracts using aggregate zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs).

So, transactions are immutable all the way across chain crossover because AggLayer delivers “universal cryptographic security and atomic adaptability across aggregated chains without surrendering sovereignty,” as stated in a blog post by Polygon Labs.

Cointelegraph obtained a press statement from Astar Network creator Sota Watanabe, who explained the move as an element of Japan’s national IT strategy:

“Astar zkEVM’s investment in development and integration with the AggLayer establishes us as the leading web3 authority in Japan for innovation, entertainment, and retail dApps. We are proud to be at the forefront of web3 expansion in Japan’s enterprise, retail, and government sectors, and we are speeding up the growth of web3 overall.”

According to Cointelegraph, the announcement of AggLayer was made a little more than a month ago with the intention of making users seamless between chains.

Polygon Labs drew parallels between the outcome and an internet-like end-user experience. To enable cross-chain mobility, AggLayer essentially connects and converts assets automatically, eliminating the need to manually recover, restage, and link them. Everything happens in the background when users click on links, much as in today’s Web2 experience, when handshaking happens across sites and between domains.

In a statement, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal hailed the beginning of the AggLayer era as a watershed moment:

“Today marks a significant initial stride towards integrating communities into a unified multichain ecosystem. Polygon CDK and AggLayer are ready to provide internet-scale capabilities to the crypto world, thanks to Astar and other ZK-powered chains that are onboarding shortly.”

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