OKX launches ETH layer-2 network X Layer following Coinbase's Base success

Crypto exchange OKX finally opened its Ethereum layer-2 network X Layer mainnet to the general public on April 15.

The scaling solution’s testnet was launched in November 2023 to much acclaim and was built with Polygon’s Chain Development Kit (CDK). This toolkit empowers developers to construct their chains using zero-knowledge technology.

OKX Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique explained that the firm built its layer-2 network because it believes the “best way to achieve mainstream adoption is to help scale the largest existing Web3 community, Ethereum, instead of competing with it.”

Consequently, the firm seeks to leverage Polygon and Ethereum communities to bring its 50 million users on-chain.

X Layer

X Layer is a highly performant and secure Ethereum-based Zero Knowledge (ZK) Layer-2 network.

The platform already enjoys some level of adoption, with over 200 decentralized applications, including famous names such as Etherfi, Chainlink, Curve Finance, Eigen Layer, and Renzo Protocol, building on it.

Rafique added:

“Now that the X LAYER public mainnet is live, our focus is to onboard as many developers and users as possible. Our aim is to add value by providing a seamless and efficient experience on-chain, to encourage and facilitate new innovations based on L2 and ZK technologies.”

Moreover, the exchange’s native OKB token will be used for gas payments on the layer-2 network. This mainnet’s launch triggered a positive surge in OKB’s value, registering a 5% uptick despite the prevailing market downturn affecting large-cap digital assets.

There had been some controversy over the chain’s branding, which had initially been promoted as X1. Another platform built by XEN developers, originally going by XONE, now known as X1, had raised concerns over users potentially confusing the two chains. OKX has finally settled on X Layer, seemingly to avoid any branding issues following a lawsuit from the XEN developers.

Layer-2 networks

Layer-2 blockchain networks are engineered to bolster Ethereum’s scalability, a trend that has surged in popularity and integration within the crypto sphere.

According to data from L2Beat, these networks collectively facilitate 117 transactions per second, marking a substantial leap over Ethereum’s mainchain by a factor of 9.67.

Moreover, the total value of assets secured on these networks soared to an unprecedented $45 billion before slightly declining to $37 billion at the time of reporting.