Crypto Exchange OKX's Polygon-Powered Layer 2, 'X Layer,' Hits Public Mainnet

OKX, the fourth-largest crypto exchange, announced that its new layer-2 blockchain, called X Layer, has gone live on its public mainnet. This development marks a continuation in the era of major crypto companies starting their own distributed networks.

X Layer, previously known as X1, utilizes Polygon's Chain Development Kit (CDK), a customizable toolkit that allows developers to create their own chains using zero-knowledge technology.

This announcement follows the efforts of other major cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase and Kraken, who have also pursued their own layer-2 networks over the past year. In August, Coinbase launched its "Base" blockchain, which was built using Optimism's OP Stack. Kraken is reportedly also interested in creating its own layer-2 blockchain.

In a press release, OKX stated that its developers will contribute to CDK's codebase, and that X Layer will connect to Polygon's wider ecosystem via the AggLayer. AggLayer is a Polygon offering aimed at unifying liquidity across various chains created using the project's technology.

"OKX's 50 million users now have an easy path to onboarding to X Layer and all the other chains connected to the AggLayer," Polygon Labs CEO Mark Boiron said in the release.

X Layer, which launched on testnet in November, will enable users to access over 170 decentralized applications (dapps), with more slated to launch soon.

"We envision 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 take you there," OKX Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique said in the press release.