Sources have revealed that Kraken, a prominent U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, is in the early stages of considering partnerships with leading blockchain technology firms for the creation of its layer 2 network, mirroring a move made earlier this year by rival Coinbase.
Potential collaborators include Polygon, Matter Labs, and Nil Foundation. However, these discussions are in the early stages, and additional teams may also be involved, according to anonymous insiders as the effort has not been publicly disclosed, and discussions are still evolving.
Kraken’s spokesperson commented, “We’re always looking to identify and solve for new industry challenges and opportunities. We don’t have anything further to share at this time.” The move aligns with the trend of major cryptocurrency companies with established brands exploring opportunities as blockchain builders to diversify revenue streams or extend their existing operations.
Coinbase, for instance, introduced its layer 2 network, Base, in August, utilising the OP Stack from the OP Labs team, creators of Optimism, the second-largest layer-2 network on the Ethereum blockchain.
Polygon, known for its Ethereum scaling solutions like the Polygon PoS network and the more recent Polygon zkEVM, released a software toolkit this year for developers to create their own blockchains. Matter Labs, the developer behind the zkSync layer-2 network, also offers its technology to emerging builders.
Kraken has recently posted a job opening for a “Senior Cryptography Engineer” with expertise in modern cryptography, including zero-knowledge proofs. The role’s potential responsibilities encompass the design and implementation of layer-2 solutions. The job description expresses enthusiasm for open source, layer-2 technologies, zero-knowledge proofs, and multi-party computation, indicating Kraken’s commitment to exploring the potential of on-chain scaling solutions. The team is actively exploring how various protocols and decentralised applications can be integrated into Kraken, as mentioned in the job listing.