Polygon CDK Expansion Takes Precedence as Edge Contributions Cease

Polygon Labs has discontinued contributions to its Edge platform which is designed to build custom Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks.

This decision reflects the company’s plans to prioritize the expansion of the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK), the open-source development toolkit for building ZK-powered Layer 2 chains on Ethereum for both Web3 projects and Web2 enterprises.

Polygon CDK Set to Take Center Stage

In the official announcement, Polygon Labs – the developer behind the Polygon blockchain ecosystem – said that Edge has been an open-source project. Its code base is licensed under the permissive Apache License 2.0, which enables the community to use the software for any purpose, distribute, and modify it.

However, there has been a change in the team’s development priorities over the past year.

Rather than developing with Edge, the emphasis will now shift towards CDK, Polygon’s toolkit for designing and launching zero knowledge-powered Layer 2 chains. CDX has emerged as a preferred solution for both Web2 and Web3 players. Chains deployed through the CDK are expected to exhibit interoperability across an extensive network.

“The landscape in which Edge was developed has changed and Polygon Labs now supports a solution that empowers developers to build within a (future) unified ecosystem of ZK-powered L2s.”

Polygon’s ZK Push

Polygon Labs has already started doubling down its efforts towards zero-knowledge (ZK) since the beginning of the year. In March, they introduced Polygon zkEVM, a novel Ethereum-compatible network empowered by zero-knowledge technology. Following this, the team has actively been seeking blockchain developers to adopt “Polygon CDK,” serving as a framework for creating new layer-2 networks modeled after the initial technology.

Companies and initiatives that confirmed leveraging Polygon CDK comprise Flipkart, Immutable, OKX, Astar, Canto, Gnosis Pay, Palm Network, Aavegotchi, CapX, Wirex, IDEX, Nubank, GameSwift, Powerloom, Manta Network.

In the future, Polygon Labs said the chains deployed through Polygon CDK will seamlessly interoperate within an extended network of zero-knowledge-powered Layer 2s in the Polygon CDK ecosystem, forming a unified liquidity pool. These functionalities are not inherently supported by Edge and require a migration involving substantial modifications.

The focus is also on the much-anticipated Polygon 2.0 upgrade that seeks to establish a comprehensive network of interconnected Layer 2 chains powered by ZK proofs.