OKX cryptocurrency exchange officially launched its Ethereum layer-2 network, X Layer mainnet, to the public on April 15.

The scaling solution's testnet debuted in November 2023 to great acclaim and was developed using Polygon's Chain Development Kit (CDK), empowering developers to create their chains using zero-knowledge technology.

Haider Rafique, Chief Marketing Officer at OKX, stated that the exchange built its layer-2 network with the belief that scaling the largest existing Web3 community, Ethereum, rather than competing with it, is the best approach to achieve mainstream adoption. As a result, the firm aims to utilize the Polygon and Ethereum communities to onboard its 50 million users onto the blockchain.

X Layer is an Ethereum-based Zero Knowledge (ZK) layer-2 network known for its high performance and security. The platform has already garnered adoption from over 200 decentralized applications, including popular projects like Etherfi, Chainlink, Curve Finance, Eigen Layer, and Renzo Protocol.

Rafique emphasized the focus on onboarding developers and users to the X Layer public mainnet to provide a seamless and efficient on-chain experience, fostering new innovations based on layer-2 (L2) and ZK technologies.

Furthermore, OKX's native token, OKB, will be utilized for gas payments on the layer-2 network. The launch of this mainnet resulted in a 5% increase in OKB's value despite the overall market downturn affecting major digital assets.

Initially branded as X1, there was controversy over the network's name, as another platform developed by XEN developers, originally called XONE and now known as X1, raised concerns about potential confusion between the two chains. OKX settled on the name X Layer to avoid branding issues following a lawsuit from the XEN developers.

Layer-2 blockchain networks aim to enhance Ethereum's scalability, a trend that has gained popularity and integration within the crypto sphere. These networks collectively process 117 transactions per second, a significant improvement over Ethereum's mainchain, and secure assets worth billions of dollars.