What is AggLayer?
AggLayer is Polygon's cross-chain settlement layer. Connected chains post proofs of their state to a shared bridge, which aggregates them so assets and messages move between those chains as one unified liquidity set instead of through per-chain wrapped IOUs. Safety at the bridge is enforced by pessimistic proofs.
Also called: Polygon AggLayer · aggregation layer · unified bridge · cross-chain settlement layer
What it is trying to fix
Every conventional bridge fragments an asset into wrapped copies and concentrates risk in one contract. AggLayer instead makes the bridge the shared settlement point: chains prove their state to it, and the unified bridge accounts for deposits and withdrawals across all of them. For tokenized assets the appeal is that an asset leg and its cash leg can settle across two chains inside one aggregated proof.
What it does not remove
Aggregation is a settlement guarantee, not a compliance or custody guarantee. A permissioned security token still cannot move to a chain where its identity registry does not exist, and the wrapper's redemption terms still govern what the token is worth. AggLayer changes how value crosses chains; it does not change what the value is a claim on.
Frequently asked questions
Is AggLayer a blockchain?
No. It is a settlement and proof-aggregation layer that connected chains plug into, with a unified bridge accounting for cross-chain deposits and withdrawals.
How is it different from a bridge?
A conventional bridge locks assets and mints wrapped copies per destination. AggLayer aggregates connected chains' proofs into one bridge, so the asset does not fragment into separate wrapped versions.
Where this shows up live
On the desk
What our numbers do and do not measure
Every figure on those pages carries its source and as-of time. Nothing is shown when the upstream is unavailable.
Related terms
- Pessimistic Proof — A pessimistic proof is a bridge safety check that assumes every connected chain may be broken.
- Atomic Settlement — Atomic settlement is all-or-nothing settlement: every leg of a transaction completes together or none do, with no partial or failed state.
- OFT (Omnichain Fungible Token) — An OFT (Omnichain Fungible Token) is a LayerZero token standard that lets one asset live natively on multiple chains with a unified supply: tokens are burned on the source chain and minted on the destination, so no wrapped copies or bridge pools accumulate.
More in Settlement
Informational only · not financial advice. See the live numbers on the data desk, the sourcing rules in the methodology, or the day's stories in the newsroom. · ← All glossary terms