Agglayer Solves the Layer 1 vs. Layer 2 Debate

The early internet was fragmented. There were many different networks, which couldn’t talk to one another, and their users were isolated, too. 

Sound familiar? The internet really became the internet when internetworking was defined and developed as the W3C pushed standards that matter, like TCP/IP, HTML, HTTP, and CSS. This allowed communication and messages to be passed seamlessly, all over the world.

Right now, the blockchain landscape resembles this early internet era. 

Crypto is fragmented across hundreds of chains, both L1s and Ethereum-focused L2s of many varied execution environments and consensus mechanisms. This creates a fragmented user and developer experience, hampering true scale and real adoption.

There’s a different way: Agglayer is the TCP/IP moment for web3, a fast and seamless cross-chain interop and settlement layer with superior UX, unified liquidity, and new horizons for developers. 

Below, we dive into Agglayer’s chain agnostic approach. It’s a simple vision: unify all of crypto to make a trustless internet that just works.

Agglayer’s architecture

Agglayer aggregates sovereign chains and unifies liquidity, users, and state, making it easy for cross-chain interop and message passing. 

Part of its design is to be as minimal and non-invasive as possible, so that any chain can join—and anyone can enjoy web3.

At an extremely high level, you can think of four core components for Agglayer:

• A unified bridge, which sovereign chains join for fungible cross-chain assets and unified liquidity
• The pessimistic proof, now live, a special ZK proof and accounting mechanism that ensures no single chain can withdraw more from the bridge than it has deposited
• Proof aggregation, to amortize costs across all connected chains
• Fast interop, for speed in cross-chain transactions and better UX 

A common misconception is that Agglayer is “just a bridge,” similar to existing interoperability solutions. 

This isn’t true. 

Existing third-party bridges facilitate token transfers or message passing between chains by introducing new security assumptions for users. Often, these bridges rely on wrapped assets and intermediaries that further fragment cross-chain liquidity. 

Agglayer offers a trustless mechanism for unifying liquidity and state. 

With the unified bridge and the pessimistic proof, there are no added security risks like those associated with third party bridges and other interop solutions.

Here’s how it works. Where the Agglayer sees a multiplicity of chains, Ethereum sees just one shared contract. This is important because it’s the foundational component for tangible assets. The same native token on one chain will be fungible, and unwrapped, on every other. 

The pessimistic proof, now live on mainnet, provides a cryptographic guarantee which ensures that, even if a chain’s security is compromised, it cannot drain funds from other chains. So even though the pessimistic proof can’t guarantee that a chain is doing correct internal accounting, it can ensure that it doesn’t rug other chains.

With this super power, Agglayer allows any chain to connect. 

It is not only Polygon CDK chains or only ZK chains that will be able to join. 

In reality, the Agglayer is inclusive. Already, core contributors are working to expand beyond EVM chains, with the goal to bring all chains into an aggregated, unified ecosystem. 

But wait, how is this different from other interoperability solutions?

Although Agglayer enables interoperability, it is not merely an interoperability solution, nor another mega-network of networks.

The Agglayer is something new: an aggregated solution.

By aggregating chains and posting finality to Ethereum, Agglayer unlocks cross-chain settlement. With emerging coordination mechanisms, like shared sequencers, Agglayer will be able to handle extremely fast, atomic bundles of transactions. 

That means settling multiple transactions across different chains at the same time. You can read more about how this works, logically, in Brendan Farmer’s original post, here.

Compared to other existing multichain solutions, Agglayer has a few unique characteristics:

• Fungible assets: Many interop solutions result in wrapped cross-chain assets. This isn’t unified liquidity, but further fragmentation. 
• No fee extraction: Chains (and users) aren’t taxed when joining the Agglayer 
• No imposition of chain architecture: There are no requirements or constitutions that chains must adhere to when they join; every chain is sovereign and completely customizable, but with security to protect the entire ecosystem from bad actors.
• One-time setup: When a chain joins the Agglayer, they get access to every other connected chain. 

So that’s the Agglayer from a high level. 

Unpacking benefits for developers and users

Let’s bring it back to the beginning: a unified, aggregated environment is a game-changing synthesis for the next iteration of the Internet.

For developers:

• Build for unified users and liquidity: Agglayer's unified bridge acts as a single point of entry for liquidity across connected chains. This eliminates the need for developers to bootstrap liquidity on individual chains, providing instant access to a large, aggregated ecosystem.
• Simplified cross-chain development: The bridgeAndCall() function will streamline cross-chain transactions, allowing developers to build complex, cross-chain logic. This simplifies the development process and enables the creation of truly interoperable applications.
• Expanded reach: Building on any Agglayer-connected chain is the same as building on all of them. That means developers can maximize reach to a larger user base and enable seamless interactions with cross-chain apps.

For users:

• Better UX: The Agglayer abstracts away complexities of transacting across connected chains. Think fungible assets, easy cross-chain experience that feels like interacting with a single blockchain.
• Enhanced security: The pessimistic proof ensures the safety and security of the unified bridge, ensuring no single chain can rug the entire ecosystem. 

The Future is Aggregated

Agglayer is a paradigm shift for unifying all Web3. By providing a trustless and secure protocol for cross-chain interactions, Agglayer unlocks unparalleled benefits for developers and users.

As more chains join, the network effects continue to grow. Fifteen chains are live or in testnet on Agglayer, with more joining every week. This leads to increased liquidity, a wider range of applications, and even better user experience. Dozens of chains have announced plans to connect, including the Polygon Proof-of-Stake network (more info on this coming soon). 

And dozens more are in the works. Stay tuned.

An aggregated future is emerging faster than ever before—and bringing to fruition crypto’s full potential.