OKX launches Ethereum layer‑2 testnet using ZK-based Polygon CDK

Cryp­to exchange OKX has launched a test­net for an upcom­ing Ethereum layer‑2 net­work named “X1,” accord­ing to a Nov. 14 announce­ment. The net­work is being devel­oped using the Poly­gon chain devel­op­ment kit (CDK) and will use zero-knowl­edge proofs to val­i­date deposits and with­drawals between layers.

OKX is the sixth-largest cen­tral­ized cryp­to exchange by vol­ume, with over $1.8 bil­lion in trad­ing vol­ume per day, accord­ing to data from Coin­Mar­ket­Cap. Its token, OKB, has a cur­rent mar­ket cap of over $3.6 bil­lion, mak­ing it one of the top 30 cryp­tocur­ren­cies. When a main­net ver­sion of the new net­work is launched, OKB will be the native coin used to pay gas fees on it, the announce­ment stated.

X1 is being devel­oped using the Poly­gon CDK, poten­tial­ly mak­ing it part of the broad­er Poly­gon ecosys­tem that includes Poly­gon zero-knowl­edge Ethereum Vir­tu­al Machine, Poly­gon PoS, Near, Man­ta Pacif­ic and oth­er net­works. Accord­ing to the announce­ment, OKX will also be a core con­trib­u­tor to the Poly­gon CDK soft­ware going for­ward and will “invest sub­stan­tial engi­neer­ing resources to enhance the tech­nol­o­gy stack for Ethereum scal­ing solutions.”

Relat­ed: Poly­gon Labs and Near announce ZK prover for WASM integration

OKX chief inno­va­tion offi­cer Jason Lau claimed that the new net­work will help to onboard new users to Web3, stating:

“X1 will be a key pil­lar of our efforts to edu­cate and bring our users on-chain and into the world of Web3. This scal­able and acces­si­ble net­work is per­fect for devel­op­ers, who can build on X1 to deliv­er user-friend­ly world-class con­sumer Web3 appli­ca­tions, all while main­tain­ing inter­op­er­abil­i­ty with oth­er net­works and ecosystems.”

OKX is also the cre­ator of OKT Chain, an Ethereum sidechain that uses OKB as its native coin. It isn’t the only exchange to build its own net­work: Binance launched BNB Chain in 2019, and Coin­base launched its layer‑2 “Base” net­work on Aug. 9.