Liquid Restaking Protocol Swell Migrates to Optimism Superchain
Swell, a liquid restaking protocol, has announced its Layer 2 migration to the Optimism Superchain, moving away from the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK). The strategic transition will see Swell provide restaking yield and security functions for the Superchain, utilizing its Proof of Restake model to improve capital efficiency and establish a growth-supporting mechanism for staked assets.
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. Swell Founder Daniel Dizon expressed excitement about collaborating with OP Labs and the wider Optimism Collective to build out a shared vision for scaling Ethereum.
The move will see Swell join prominent crypto industry players like Coinbase in 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 utilizing the OP Stack include Uniswap and Sony.
Swell had previously announced plans to use Polygon’s CDK, supported by AltLayer, to create a zkEVM for its Layer 2 network. Despite the shift to Optimism’s OP Stack, Swell stated it “continues to believe in the aggregated ecosystem that Polygon is building.” Data from DefiLlama shows Swell’s products hold a total value locked of more than $1.35 billion.
The Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK), introduced by Polygon Labs in Q3 2023, is an open-source framework designed to enable the launch of ZK Layer 2s and support the transition of EVM Layer 1s to Layer 2s, focusing on customization and zero-knowledge (ZK) technology. Several popular projects have announced CDK-based chains.
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