OKX, the fourth-largest crypto exchange, said its new layer 2 blockchain, called X Layer, has gone live on its public mainnet, continuing the era when major crypto companies started their own distributed networks.
X Layer, formerly known as X1, uses Polygon’s Chain Development Kit (CDK), a customizable toolkit that allows developers to build their own chains using zero-knowledge technology.
The news comes as other major cryptocurrency exchanges have pursued their own layer 2 networks in the past year. In August, Coinbase launched its “Base” blockchain, which is built with Optimism’s OP Stack. Kraken is also reportedly interested in creating its own layer 2 blockchain.
In a press release, OKX said its developers will contribute to CDK’s codebase, and X Layer will connect to Polygon’s broader ecosystem through AggLayer. AggLayer is a Polygon offering that aims to unify liquidity between different chains built using the project’s technology.
“OKX’s 50 million users now have an easy path to move to X Layer and all other chains connected to the AggLayer,” said Mark Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs in the release.
X Layer, which launched on testnet in November, gives users access to more than 170 decentralized applications (dapps), with more to be launched soon.
“We see X Layer and other layer 2 chains as the highway infrastructure of the Web3 world, with dApps as the marketplaces and self-hosted wallets as the vehicles that get you there,” OKX Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique said in the press release . .