Polygon and Magic Labs Launch Cross-Chain Network: Newton

Ethereum scaling layer Polygon and Magic Labs, a blockchain onboarding startup, announced Thursday the launch of a new cross-chain network called Newton. The platform aims to make using decentralized apps across multiple blockchains as seamless as browsing the internet.

By leveraging Polygon’s decentralized AggLayer and Chain Development Kit, Newton will enable developers to build dapps that operate on different chains without requiring users to keep different wallets.

> "Developers can now build user experiences that eliminate barriers," Sean Li, co-founder and CEO of Magic Labs, said in a press release. "Users should only care about transaction costs and speed, not which chain they are on."

The move marks a shift towards what Magic Labs describes as chain unification, similar to the standardization across traditional financial systems like ACH or SWIFT. If this technological standard takes hold, it could help solve the issue of blockchain silos, which fragment liquidity and complicate the crypto user experience.

Magic Labs, known for pioneering the concept of wallet abstraction in 2018, will also integrate its bespoke, chain-agnostic, self-custodial crypto wallet Passport into Newton. This wallet provides a single interface for users, regardless of the underlying blockchain technology, making it seem like they have one balance across all Ethereum-compatible networks.

> "Magic Labs has always focused on UX first, and with Newton, we're extending this to solve Layer 2 fragmentation,” said Jaemin Jin, co-founder and chief product officer at Magic Labs.

The late-stage startup, which has raised at least $82.9 million from heavyweights such as PayPal, Placeholder, and Lightspeed along with angel investors Naval and Balaji, claims to have onboarded over 35 million users. Its onboarding tech has been utilized by dapps, including Polymarket and Helium.

As the name implies, Polygon’s Agglayer is a network of aggregated blockchains that uses Ethereum for security and as a settlement layer.

Editor's note: Correct Magic Lab's name in the headline.