- Polygon (MATIC) Labs has teased a new addition to the AggLayer ecosystem.
- The new AggLayer addition promises to mark a key milestone in Polygon’s plans to connect Layer 1 chains like Solana to Ethereum.
- The development follows months of effort to bolster the AggLayer with as many ZK provers as possible.
With Ethereum‘s scaling vision becoming more rollup-centric in recent years, more alternative Layer 1 chains are exploring options to transition to Layer 2s to tap into the “DeFi King’s” deep liquidity. This would-be gold rush has meant big business for Ethereum scaling solution providers, including Polygon (MATIC) Labs.
While transitioning for most Layer 1s has often meant building an entirely new chain using the tech stack of Ethereum scaling solution providers or undergoing a massive and complex overhaul, Polygon (MATIC) Labs has set its sights on allowing any chain to plug into its ecosystem with minimal modifications seamlessly. Amid these efforts, the team has now teased that the first altVM chain has joined AggLayer, tipping the new addition to kick off a major adoption trend.
AltVM “Floodgates” Opened for Polygon (MATIC)?
Polygon (MATIC) Labs has teased yet another addition to its interoperable Layer 2 solutions ecosystem on Ethereum. In an X post on Sunday, July 28, Polygon (MATIC) Labs shared a video of Brian Trunzo, the firm’s global business development head, discussing the integration of an undisclosed altVM chain with the AggLayer, tipping the move “to open the floodgates” for other altVMs to follow.
“We’re super excited to see … integrate and become a part of the AggLayer ecosystem. We believe that this is going to open the floodgates for altVMs to consider joining AggLayer, and we think that this will just proliferate even more choice for developers,” Trunzo asserts in the 14-second clip.
AltVMs refer to virtual machines, excluding the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). They include WASM virtual machines and the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM). The teased altVM chain integration with the AggLayer highlights the Polygon (MATIC) ecosystem’s reach beyond EVM and Ethereum native projects to all of Web3.
Unsurprisingly, the recent teaser has sparked significant excitement within the Polygon (MATIC) community, with members left to guess which chain it could be. The development comes as the project has moved to allow the AggLayer to support as many VMs and chains as possible.
Polygon (MATIC) Labs’ Partnerships Paying Off?
In November 2023, Polygon (MATIC) Labs announced a partnership with the NEAR Foundation to develop a zkWASM prover to allow WASM chains to plug into the Polygon multichain ecosystem of ZK-powered Layer 2 chains.
Similarly, in April 2024, Union, a Cosmos-focused interoperability layer, announced plans to integrate with the AggLayer to connect Cosmos ecosystem chains to the Polygon (MATIC) ecosystem. At the same time, Succinct Labs, a ZK-focused firm and AggLayer contributor, has launched SP1, a zkVM solution that generates proofs for different consensus mechanisms.
Amid these efforts, over 20 chains are building to plug into the AggLayer to share liquidity with Polygon zkEVM, Astar zkEVM, and OKX’s X Layer already plugged in.
On the Flipside
- Polygon (MATIC) Labs has yet to unveil the name of the altVM chain set to plug into the AggLayer.
- Polyon’s development efforts have yet to have any meaningful effect on MATIC’s price. At the time of writing, the asset is trading around the $0.5 price point, representing a nearly 27% decline over the past year, during which several leading crypto assets have recorded significant gains.
Why This Matters
Polygon’s reach beyond EVM chains offers it an edge over other Ethereum scaling solution providers whose ecosystems are currently limited to EVM chains built with their tech stack. It also highlights Polygon’s potential to connect the bulk of Web3 on Ethereum.
Read this for more on Polygon (MATIC):
Polygon (MATIC) Eyes Revolutionary zkVM Feat With New AggLayer Contributor
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