Polygon Labs, a key player in developing scaling networks for Ethereum, has redirected its efforts from “Polygon Edge” to the newly emphasized “Polygon CDK” – a blockchain development kit leveraging zero-knowledge cryptography (ZK). This shift signifies a departure from the older Polygon Edge, previously utilized by Dogechain in an unofficial attempt to construct a Dogecoin-centric smart-contracts network aimed at integrating decentralized finance (DeFi) within the Dogecoin community.
In an official blog post, Polygon Labs announced the discontinuation of contributions to Polygon Edge, emphasizing the evolution towards supporting chain development in the Polygon ecosystem through Polygon CDK. The latter serves as a framework for constructing layer-2 blockchains fueled by ZK, a technology increasingly integral to numerous crypto projects and upgrades.
Polygon Labs executives have signaled this pivot towards ZK throughout the year, culminating in the launch of Polygon zkEVM in March. Polygon CDK, positioned as a blueprint for new layer-2 networks, has garnered commitments from projects such as Immutable, Astar, Canto, Gnosis Pay, and Manta Network. Notably, the team is actively vying for the migration of the Celo blockchain to a layer 2 and reportedly working on a new layer-2 network for the crypto exchange Kraken.
While Dogechain, which employed Polygon Edge, aimed to enable DOGE tokens for transactions and “gas fees,” the recent Polygon announcement leaves the future of Dogechain uncertain. Polygon Labs stated that many projects might migrate to Polygon CDK, offering the option to eventually integrate into a unified CDK ecosystem. The implications for Dogechain, however, remain unclear, with no immediate response from the project regarding Polygon’s decision.
