Brendan Farmer, one of the co-founders of Polygon, recently discussed the Polygon AggLayer in an interview with Cointelegraph. With a background in mathematics and cryptography, Farmer provided insights into the inner workings of the AggLayer and its potential impact on the blockchain industry.
The AggLayer, as described by Farmer, aims to address the issue of fragmentation in Ethereum layer 2s (L2s). Currently, there are numerous L2s such as Optimism, Arbitrum, and zkSync, but each of them individually cannot meet the global demand for blockspace in the crypto industry. When assets are bridged from one chain to another, they are wrapped in a synthetic version, which is not an ideal solution. The AggLayer seeks to enable safe and low-latency interoperability between chains without the need to transact on a layer 1 (L1) blockchain like Ethereum, which can take significant time to finalize a block.
To achieve this, the Chain Development Kit (CDK) plays a crucial role. The CDK provides building blocks for the ecosystem, allowing developers to create their own chains. The AggLayer then combines these chains into a unified experience, creating the illusion of a single chain even in a horizontally scalable environment. In the future, developers will have the ability to use different execution environments, further enhancing the flexibility and functionality of the AggLayer.
Establishing the AggLayer comes with its challenges, especially in ensuring safe interoperability between chains. Unlike other ecosystems, the AggLayer does not require revenue or profit sharing to use its technology, making it more accessible to developers.
Looking ahead to 2025, the AggLayer has the potential to revolutionize various use cases in the blockchain industry. It can significantly lower costs and enable the onboarding of millions of users into decentralized finance (DeFi). The AggLayer also opens up possibilities for new applications by allowing chains to have different virtual machine (VM) or state models while remaining composable. This flexibility and enablement of new VMs will empower developers and reshape how they build on the blockchain.
When asked about his interest in zero-knowledge (ZK) technology, Farmer highlighted the importance of privacy in financial transactions and internet usage. He sees ZK as a way to address the fundamental problem of compromised privacy and believes that it will play a crucial role in navigating financial privacy in the coming decades.
Overall, the Polygon AggLayer holds great promise for the blockchain industry, providing a solution to fragmentation and offering new possibilities for developers and users alike.