Polygon’s AggLayer adopts Agora’s AUSD as native currency

Agora, a stablecoin company, has introduced its AUSD stablecoin as the native currency for Polygon’s AggLayer, a crosschain settlement network, to enable multichain transactions via a stable, fiat-backed asset.

The partnership aims to eliminate the need for token bridges, simplifying and unifying liquidity for developers and end-users in the AggLayer community onchain.

Agora is a stablecoin startup co-founded by Nick van Eck, Drake Evans and Joe McGrady. Custodians, including State Street and VanEck, back its institutional-grade stablecoin AUSD.

The development is significant for users of the AggLayer — designed to enable different chains to connect and interact — as it pushes to make Web3 more accessible and efficient to boost mainstream adoption.

Related: Magic Labs, Polygon launch crosschain smart wallet for AggLayer

AUSD integration implications

By integrating AUSD on AggLayer to become the native stablecoin of the crosschain network, developers and users could see reduced transaction costs and smoother crosschain interactions.

Connected chains to the AggLayer can access AUSD without additional fees or the requirement of bridging processes, reducing financial and time-related costs.

In a Q&A with Cointelegraph, an Agora spokesperson explained that AUSD will enable “participating businesses” on the AggLayer to “earn income directly from its use.”

“This allows chains on the AggLayer to benefit from the income on stablecoins rather than the centralized issuer. With Agora agreeing to make it native to the AggLayer, AUSD will require no new costs or development work for chains who want a high-quality stablecoin on their chains.”

Related: Polygon and Fabric team up to fast-track ZK-proof adoption on AggLayer

Web3 community impact

For developers building applications on the AggLayer, AUSD aims to provide a reliable store of value and a stable payment method that can be integrated into decentralized applications.

In a press release shared with Cointelegraph, Nick van Eck stated that the AUSD integration “is about building a more egalitarian economic network” where income is “shared across network participants.”

This would mean that AggLayer users should expect to benefit from network participation where the use of AUSD rewards the Web3 community rather than a centralized issuer.

Related: ‘Yield-bearing stables’ are not money or stablecoins: Agora’s van Eck

AggLayer goes ZK

Polygon Labs, the development company focused on building the AggLayer and the Polygon ecosystem, partnered with startup Fabric Cryptography on Sept. 10 to introduce zero-knowledge proofs to the AggLayer.

The integration of Fabric’s Verifiable Processing Units into the AggLayer is set to improve the user experience for developers and end-users by upping security and cutting costs.

Mihailo Bjelic, co-founder of Polygon, told Cointelegraph the significance of the development, explaining that “what would’ve taken three to five years can now happen in just six to 12 months.”

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