Astar Network Debuts Astar zkEVM on Polygon’s AggLayer

Astar Network, a Japanese blockchain firm, achieved a significant milestone on March 5 by launching Astar zkEVM. This launch makes Astar Network the first layer-2 chain to seamlessly integrate into Polygon’s AggLayer, ushering in a new era of cross-chain transactions.

As reported earlier by TheCoinRise, Astar Network was announced as the winner of the ‘Product of the Year Award’ at the Japan Blockchain Association award in December 2022.

Astar Network Debuts Astar zkEVM

Astar zkEVM is a revolutionary zero-knowledge layer-2 chain meticulously designed to facilitate cross-chain transactions between the Astar and Polygon blockchains. 

Its integration into AggLayer, a protocol supporting multichain smart contracts through aggregate zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs), effectively allows these chains to operate as a unified network for end-users. This integration not only enhances interoperability but also ensures the immutability of transactions across the entire process of traversing different chains.

‘Uniform Cryptographic Security’

Polygon Labs, in a recent blog post, highlighted that AggLayer provides “uniform cryptographic security and atomic composability across aggregated chains without sacrificing sovereignty.” This ensures that the integrity of transactions is maintained even when crossing chains, reinforcing the security and reliability of the entire ecosystem.

Sota Watanabe, the visionary founder of Astar Network, expressed that this strategic move aligns with Japan’s national tech strategy. He emphasized that Astar zkEVM’s integration into AggLayer positions the platform as Japan’s web3 authority for innovation, entertainment, and retail dApps. 

This move is expected to propel Astar Network to the forefront of Japan’s web3 expansion, with implications reaching enterprise, retail, and government sectors, accelerating the growth of web3 technology.

AggLayer was Announced a Month Ago

AggLayer, introduced just over a month ago, aims to streamline the user experience across chains by eliminating friction. Instead of users manually navigating through the complexities of connecting, recovering, and restaging assets for cross-chain movements, AggLayer simplifies the process behind the scenes. 

This user-friendly approach draws parallels to the seamless experience of today’s Web2, where background processes facilitate interactions between sites and domains with minimal user intervention.

Significance of the Announcement by Astar Network

Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, emphasized the significance of this milestone, marking the onset of the AggLayer era. 

“Today is an important first step to welcome communities to a seamless multichain ecosystem. With Astar and numerous other ZK-powered chains onboarding soon, Polygon CDK and AggLayer are poised to bring internet-scale capabilities to the world of crypto,” said Nailwal.

With Astar and other ZK-powered chains set to join the platform, Polygon CDK and AggLayer are poised to introduce internet-scale capabilities to the dynamic world of cryptocurrency.