Meet X1 – New zKEVM Layer-2 Network by OKX and Polygon Labs

On November 14, 2023, crypto exchange OKX announced the launch of its new zk-powered layer-2 network in partnership with Polygon Labs.

Currently in testnet, the new network – X1 – aims to enhance accessibility to Web3 for OKX, Polygon, and Ethereum communities, accelerating Web3 adoption. With EVM compatibility and Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK), X1 enables builders and developers to create Web3 applications with ease and at low cost.

As part of the collaboration, OKX will benefit from Polygon’s zero-knowledge technology to create a highly scalable, secure, and efficient solution. In return, Polygon CDK will receive ‘substantial engineering resources’ from OKX.

OKX’s token will be the native token of the network and can be used to pay transaction fees on the network.

Jason Lau, Chief Innovation Officer at OKX, said that the goal of X1 is to onboard more users into onchain and Web3. The strategic collaboration with Polygon Labs enables builders to build on X1 with ease while seamlessly connecting to other networks.

In addition to benefits to developers, Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon believes that X1 is also accessible to members across OKX, Polygon, and Ethereum communities. ‘Looking ahead, Polygon CDK-deployed chains can interoperate and coexist within a larger network of ZK-powered L2s in the Polygon CDK ecosystem,’ he noted.

Polygon Labs was previously mentioned as one of Kraken’s potential partners in its Layer-2 initiative. OKX’s rival is reportedly looking to launch its layer-2 network. Cardano’s founder Charles Hoskinson additionally proposed to partner with Kraken.

Some of the major candidates include Matter Labs and Nil Foundation. Nil Foundation has recently introduced a new zk-rollup with sharding to help Ethereum developers to build scalable and performant decentralized applications.