Polygon Boosts Layer 2 Kit with Celestia Data Availability

• Polygon Labs has unveiled plans to include Celestia’s data availability solution in the CDK.
• The move promises to reduce costs for projects that choose to use it.
• Integrating Celestia’s DA is the second big planned upgrade outlined for the CDK.

As Polygon Labs seeks to offer the preferred tech stack for Ethereum Layer 2 chains, the firm has placed significant focus on modularity to allow projects using its Chain Development Kit (CDK) to select from various options to create a tailor-made experience for their users.

In line with this goal, Polygon Labs has unveiled a new inclusion to the CDK that promises to drastically reduce costs for projects using the stack to spin out Layer 2 chains.

Polygon CDK To Integrate Celestia DA

On Tuesday, December 12, Polygon Labs announced that it would integrate Celestia’s data availability (DA) solution with the CDK as part of its available customization options for chains building with the stack.

As highlighted by Polygon Labs, the move would drastically reduce costs for Layer 2 chains that opt to use the DA solution, as it would allow them to prove their transactions without needing to download this data to the Ethereum network, which typically incurs extra cost. Polygon Labs estimates that this cost reduction would lead to a 100 times reduction in fees for end users.

Commenting on the planned integration, Polygon Labs Executive Chairman Sandeep Nailwal likened what developers were trying to achieve with the CDK to what fiber optics did for the internet.

“This is the broadband moment for Web3. The ability to launch a high-throughput ZK-powered Ethereum Layer 2 as easily as deploying a smart contract will do for blockchain adoption what high-speed fiber did for Web2 applications,” Nailwal stated.

The Celestia DA integration is the second major update Polygon Labs has recently outlined for the CDK. On November 8, the team announced a collaboration with NEAR Foundation to make the transition to an Ethereum Layer 2 chain easier for Web Assembly (WASM) chains by developing a zkWASM prover.

So far, the CDK is already being used by projects like OKX, Astar, Canto, and Manta.

On the Flipside 

• The integration of Celestia’s DA solution with the CDK has yet to happen.
• In 2021, Polygon Labs incubated Avail, a DA solution firm like Celestia founded by Polygon co-founder Anurag Arjun. However, in March 2023, Polygon released Avail, citing a decision to focus on “Ethereum-native” solutions.
• The Ethereum developers are working to resolve congestion problems that have created the need for DA solutions through danksharding. The first upgrade in this roadmap, dubbed proto-danksharding, will likely roll out with the Dencun upgrade in Q1 2024.

Why This Matters

The addition of Celestia’s DA solution as a plug-in feature of the CDK makes it easy for developers looking to build Ethereum Layer 2 chains focusing on low fees. This feature can be particularly useful for payments-focused projects.

Read this for more on the Polygon CDK:
How Polygon’s Chain Development Kit Enables the 2.0 Vision

Learn about Polygon Labs’ latest product and how it helps users navigate the Polygon ecosystem in one interface:
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