Aiming to solve the growing issue of liquidity fragmentation across Ethereum-compatible networks, Magic Labs and Polygon Labs have teamed up to launch Newton, described as a “chain unification network."
Newton is designed to boost interoperability across Polygon’s AggLayer, which connects layer-1 and layer-2 chains with shared liquidity. Magic Labs will deploy a wallet on Newton called Passport that lets users store and transfer various digital assets across various blockchain platforms with “simplified” cross-chain swaps.
Newton aims to smash “blockchain silos” and unify liquidity, which has become more fragmented amid growing layer-2 and rollup development in the Ethereum world, Magic Labs CEO and co-founder Sean Li told Decrypt.
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“Users want to focus on this one wallet, one balance, one-chain experience as a mainstream user,” said Li, “instead of having to manage multitudes of wallets across chains and across applications.”
Crypto traders often move funds across various chains, or networks, in one of two ways: Bridging or cross-chain swaps. Bridging is the process of transferring funds from one blockchain to another, typically via a smart contract that enables the movement of assets.
Meanwhile, cross-chain swaps allow for the direct transfer of tokens from one blockchain for tokens on another without the need for an intermediary. As a result, cross-chain swaps can be a less complicated way to move funds than bridging, in addition to offering potentially faster and cheaper transactions.
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Newton is integrated within Polygon's aggregated network called the AggLayer, which facilitates nearly instant cross-chain transactions by aggregating zero-knowledge proofs across connected chains. In working together, Polygon Labs and Magic Labs say they can solve liquidity and user fragmentation across a growing array of chains.
“There's this proliferation of layer-2s and rollups that's coming up that increasingly worsens the user experience in Web3,” Li said, adding that the firm’s “mission has always been trying to get the next billion on-chain since the very beginning.”
Newton is initially launching in a private testnet, with no ETA provided yet for a public rollout.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
