Astar zkEVM, Built with Polygon CDK, Connects to the AggLayer and Taps Unified Liquidity with Polygon zkEVM

Kicking off the age of aggregation, Astar zkEVM, implemented by Gelato, unlocks cross-chain transactions and interoperability by connecting to the AggLayer.

Polygon Labs

March 6, 2024

Today, Astar Network launched Astar zkEVM, a performant ZK-powered Layer 2 (L2) rollup built with Polygon CDK and the first chain fully integrated with the AggLayer. As an early pioneer to a unified ecosystem, Astar zkEVM will be natively interoperable with Polygon zkEVM and all future blockchains connected to the AggLayer, enabling seamless cross-chain transactions.

Astar zkEVM was implemented in conjunction with Gelato, a blockchain infrastructure company which helps projects design and launch sovereign blockchains using Polygon CDK. Going live with the protocol today continues Astar Network’s dominance in Japan as a leading network for projects across enterprises, entertainment, and gaming. Astar zkEVM will leverage innovative Polygon CDK technology and robust security, and provide users and developers fast finality and withdrawals to Ethereum’s $50B ecosystem.

The first components of the AggLayer were made live last month, including a unified bridge to Ethereum to enable cross-chain transactions. Instead of using its own bridge to Ethereum, as other rollups and L2s do—even in a multichain L2 ecosystem—Astar zkEVM will join Polygon zkEVM in the unified bridge.

In a big technological step, there are now two ZK-powered protocols connected to the same bridge. But expect this number to grow this year, a lot. rollupCount++

Connecting Astar zkEVM to the AggLayer required core developers from several different teams—Astar, Polygon Labs, and Gelato—to work closely together. It is a first: A unified bridge for multiple chains. The next Polygon CDK release (coming soon) will integrate what has been learned with this initial implementation and make connecting chains to the AggLayer significantly easier. This means more implementation providers will be able to support more projects seeking to plug into the AggLayer.

To keep up to date with Astar zkEVM, be sure to follow Astar Network on X (formerly Twitter) account. And tune into the blog and our social channels for the latest in the Polygon ecosystem.

The future of Web3 is aggregated.