Kraken Picks Optimism for New Layer-2 Network, Joining Coinbase’s Base on ‘Superchain’

Kraken, the The world’s sixth-largest cryptocurrency change mentioned Thursday it’s launching its personal layer-2 community on prime of the Ethereum blockchain, based mostly on expertise borrowed from Optimism — the identical supplier that powers rival Coinbase’s layer-2 community, Base.

The revelation comes nearly a 12 months later CoinDesk broke the information that Kraken is contemplating its personal layer-2 community, following the huge success of Base following its launch in mid-2023.

Ink, as Kraken’s new community is thought, is constructed on the OP Stack, a customizable toolkit that permits builders to create their very own blockchains utilizing Optimism’s expertise. The community is predicted to go reside in early 2025.

Optimism has seen vital success currently, with main crypto firms and even non-crypto firms selecting to make use of their blockchain as a blueprint for their very own networks. Along with Coinbase, the biggest US-based crypto change, electronics large Sony and decentralized change Uniswap has shared plans to construct layer-2 networks based mostly on the OP Stack. (Coinbase’s Primary launched in August 2023.)

Creating your personal layer 2 is hardly new in the intervening time. Different layer 2 networks comparable to Polygon, zkSync, Starknet and Arbitrum have all come to market with their very own stacks, hoping to persuade firms to undertake the expertise.

However Kraken’s alternative might make OP Stack the undisputed chief amongst expertise suppliers for brand new Ethereum Layer-2 networks.

Rival Arbitrum is the biggest tier 2 challenge, with a complete collateral worth (TVL) of roughly $13.6 billion, in keeping with the web site L2Beat. That is far forward of Optimism’s $6.1 billion flagship community.

However when it comes to the household of layer 2 tasks utilizing Optimism’s expertise, there are no less than 43 rollups, with a TVL of $18.1 billion. Collectively they’re branded by Optimism challenge leaders underneath the time period ‘Superchain’.

In keeping with L2Beat, there are 29 tasks utilizing Arbitrum expertise, totaling $14 billion.

“An L2 is barely pretty much as good as the worth it delivers to customers, and that worth is created by a thriving developer ecosystem,” mentioned Andrew Koller, Ink’s founder, in a press launch shared with CoinDesk. “As a part of the Superchain, Ink is laying the inspiration for an interoperable and pluralistic on-chain ecosystem that can appeal to builders and make Ink the perfect platform for next-generation DeFi functions and protocols.”

Learn extra: Kraken mentioned he was searching for a companion to assist construct a Layer 2 Blockchain community