Polygon and Wanchain to build layer-2-to-kayer-2 cross-chain bridge

Polygon, a platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development, and Wanchain, a decentralized blockchain interoperability solution, have announced a strategic partnership that will drive further adoption of layer-2 cross-chain bridges.

Wanchain will now deploy direct decentralized cross-chain bridges connecting Polygon with Arbitrum. This layer 2-to-layer 2 bridge will enhance Polygon’s growing suite of solutions, including Polygon Hermez, Polygon PoS, Polygon SDK, and Polygon Avail.

The partnership marks the first instance of using decentralized liquidity pools for a cross-chain bridge. This approach differs fundamentally from the industry-standard Lock-Mint-Burn-Unlock approach previously formalized by Wanchain.

“We recognized that needing to pass through Ethereum when moving from one layer-2 to another is self-defeating. Wanchain’s new L2 bridges preserve the high transaction throughput and low costs of Polygon while remaining efficient […]”
– Li Ni, Wanchain VP of Business Development and Operations

Wanchain’s cross-chain infrastructure already supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Wanchain, EOSIO, Binance Smart Chain, Litecoin, XRP Ledger, Moonriver, Avalanche, and Polkadot.

“By extending inroads between Abritrum and Polygon PoS, the cross-chain bridge will facilitate better liquidity and utility for users while fostering greater overall interoperability and growth for the Ethereum ecosystem.”
– Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder at Polygon