Canto Shifts Focus to Ethereum Layer-2 Alongside Polygon

Following in the footsteps of Celo, Canto has decided to transition from a layer-1 blockchain to a layer-2 solution on Ethereum, in collaboration with Polygon.

According to their latest announcement, the layer-1 blockchain Canto, built on Cosmos, will soon pivot to Ethereum's layer-2 using zero-knowledge proof technology.

Canto is currently collaborating with Polygon's development team to leverage the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK) for this new design. Additionally, the project will shift its focus towards Real World Assets (RWA). Canto stated:

"After careful consideration, we have identified Polygon CDK as the optimal solution to enable Canto to build a ZK L2 extension focusing on sovereignty, security, and liquidity."

Initially launched in September 2022, Canto focused on developing DeFi solutions. Built on the Cosmos platform, it integrated EVM to seamlessly connect to the Ethereum network. The protocol saw its peak in early 2023, during which the CANTO token at times doubled in price and ranked among the top 10 blockchains by DEX trading volume.

The price of CANTO has been trending positively, increasing nearly 20% in the past 24 hours. As of the time of writing, CANTO is trading around $0.13 USD.

Price movement of CANTO over the daily timeframe, CoinMarketCap screenshot as of 09:10 AM on September 19, 2023

However, such a move is not unprecedented in the market this year. Back in July, Celo made a similar transition, transforming into a layer-2 solution based on Optimism's OP Stack technology.

"DeFi godfather" Andre Cronje, behind the Fantom Foundation, also disclosed intentions to revamp Fantom with Optimistic Rollup, despite previous criticism of this technology.

Alongside Canto, numerous projects are developing zkEVM layer-2 solutions in partnership with Polygon, such as Astar, Immutable, IDEX, and Palm Network.