Liquid Restaking Protocol Swell Drops Polygon CDK for OP Stack

Liquid restaking protocol Swell has announced that its Layer 2 is migrating to the Optimism Superchain.

Swell said it would move away from the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK) as part of this strategic transition.

Swell Layer 2 Transitions

According to the official blog post, Swell is set to provide restaking yield and security functions for the Superchain, utilizing its Proof of Restake model to improve the capital efficiency of staked assets and establish a growth-supporting mechanism.

To comply with Superchain requirements, Swell Layer 2 will introduce modifications, including using ETH as the rollup gas token and directing part of sequencer earnings to the Optimism Collective.

In a statement, Swell Founder Daniel Dizon said,

“The Superchain is home to the biggest success stories in DeFi, with 4 of the top 5 chains utilizing Optimism’s OP Stack. Swell is excited to collaborate with OP Labs and the wider Optimism Collective to build out our shared vision for scaling Ethereum – and make Swell L2 the home of all restaking activity in the Superchain.”

With the latest development, Swell will join a growing list of prominent players in the crypto industry, including major exchanges like Coinbase, by integrating with the Optimism Superchain through the OP Stack framework.

Recently, Kraken announced its own Layer 2 network, Ink, built on the OP Stack to become part of the Superchain. Other notable names already utilizing the OP Stack include Uniswap, a leading decentralized exchange, and Sony, a global electronics leader.

Swell previously announced plans to use Polygon’s CDK, supported by AltLayer, to create a zkEVM for its Layer 2 network. However, the decision behind leveraging Optimism’s OP Stack instead of Polygon’s CDK has not been revealed yet. Despite this, Swell said that it “continues to believe in the aggregated ecosystem that Polygon is building.”

Meanwhile, data from DefiLlama shows that Swell’s products collectively hold a total value locked more than $1.35 billion.

Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK)

Polygon Labs introduced the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK), an open-source framework, in the third quarter of 2023. It was designed to enable the launch of ZK Layer 2s and support the transition of EVM Layer 1s to Layer 2s. Polygon CDK is focused on customization and zero-knowledge (ZK) technology and eventually aims to streamline connections between CDK-based chains and the AggLayer.

Several popular projects, including OKX, Ronin, Immutable, Moonveil, Fox, Witness Chain, Silicon, Manta, Hypr Network, Flipkart, Libre, Arianee, Gnosis Pay, Ton Applications Chain (TAC), and WireX, have announced CDK-based chains.