OKX Launches Ethereum Layer-2 Network in Challenge to Coinbase’s Base

Crypto exchange OKX announced Monday that its Ethereum-based layer-2 scaling network, X Layer, has entered public mainnet—becoming the latest name-brand blockchain to offer crypto users faster and cheaper transactions than Ethereum’s own mainnet.

Built using the Polygon CDK, OKX’s X Layer is also one of the first to take advantage of Polygon’s so-called AggLayer. Unveiled by Polygon in January, the solution looks to make many different blockchains feel as if they are one through a shared network state and liquidity that lets funds seamlessly flow from one network to the next.

“We are building an ecosystem that is as seamless and interoperable as possible,” OKX’s Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique said in a statement, adding that “X Layer has limitless potential thanks to [OKX’s] strong community.”

The Singapore-based exchange, which has over 50 million users globally, is one of crypto’s largest by trading volume. Over the past day, OKX has seen $4.9 billion worth of crypto change hands—more than the $4 billion in trading volume registered meanwhile at Coinbase, America’s leading crypto exchange, according to CoinGecko.

Similar to OKX’s embrace of Polygon’s tech, Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base is built using the OP Stack from Optimism, a toolkit from another popular Ethereum layer-2 network. Since launching last July, Base has attracted around 8 million users while processing 154 million total transactions, according to data from Dune Analytics.

In addition to cheap transactions, layer-2 networks make interacting with decentralized applications (dapps) more feasible for users because they cost less to use. Through X Layer, users have access to 170 dapps, which is “slated to increase exponentially,” OKX said in a statement. 

As of now, notable dapps released on X Layer include the decentralized exchange QuickSwap, community-building platform Galxe, and the infrastructure platform Thirdweb.

One noticeable difference between Base and Layer X is the latter network’s embrace of zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs. Allowing someone to prove that a statement is true without divulging the statement itself, the concept in cryptography is core to Polygon’s updated architecture and a vision for greater interoperability across chains.

“X Layer is a monumental next step in the industry’s ambition to build a truly unified Web3,” Polygon CEO Marc Boiron said in a statement. “The X Layer’s connection to the AggLayer solves the fragmentation of liquidity and users across chains.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward