Polygon's Ambitious Vision

Polygon's ultimate vision is to unify the entire Web3 space, including all the siloed blockchain networks. The company aims to achieve this through its AggLayer—short for aggregation layer—which functions as a cross-chain interoperability protocol designed to connect blockchain networks.

Ultimately, according to Marc Boiron, the CEO of Polygon Labs, AggLayer aims to connect all the blockchain space, including Layer 1 (L1) networks like Ethereum and Solana. Boiron told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview:

"When you think of Polygon 2.0, you need to bring together the idea of thematic to pull upgrade together with Polygon CDK to allow for that infinite scalability and then the AggLayer to unify all of it..."

The Role of POL Token

Polygon's (MATIC) token underwent an essential technical upgrade on Sept. 4 to become the new Polygon Ecosystem Token (POL).

This "hyperproductive" token aims to serve the network's growth and ultimate vision. The POL token's technical migration was a crucial part of the vision of Polygon 2.0—the Polygon CDK and AggLayer's final evolution—which aims to provide "infinite scalability" to unify all blockchains.

AggLayer: Connecting All of Web3

Unlike other interoperability solutions, the AggLayer is not ecosystem-specific. It focuses on connecting the entire Web3 space, as explained by Boiron:

"Unlike every other interoperability solution focused on its ecosystem, AggLayer is there to connect all of Web3... It's not just about L2s, it's not just about L1s. It's not just about Ethereum. It's about literally bringing it all together..."

Fragmentation between the leading L1 blockchains is a growing user experience issue for crypto holders. Bridging between the main networks is costly and carries security risks due to cross-chain vulnerabilities.

The Blockchain Interoperability Issue

Blockchain interoperability is among the industry's most pressing concerns. Since L1 blockchains are siloed systems, they have no means of communicating with one another, which is why cross-chain interoperability solutions exist.

The lack of compatibility between blockchains makes cross-chain infrastructure challenging to develop, leading to vulnerabilities in these third-party protocols.

In December 2023, the cross-chain interoperability solution Orbit Bridge was hacked for $82 million. In June 2024, the hacker was still on the run with the funds after moving $48 million worth of crypto to Tornado Cash.

Many prominent blockchain founders are working on interoperability, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who unveiled plans to solve cross-chain interoperability between Ethereum L2s at the beginning of August.

Apex Fusion Seeks to United Web3 As Well

Apex Fusion is preparing for launch by announcing a cohort of ecosystem partnerships. The new network will support enterprises and businesses from the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) ecosystem and the unspent transaction output (UTXO) world.

True interoperability between these two accounting methods has proven difficult to surmount to date. Therefore, Apex Fusion is set to defragment the blockchain space by launching a new multi-chain network with native interoperability.