LayerZero’s ‘Gas Station’ will simplify cross-chain NFT swaps

These capabilities will be available initially between Ethereum and Polygon chains, with more to come

article-image

mundissima/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Cross-chain messaging protocol LayerZero has revealed a “gas abstraction” tool to facilitate cross-chain NFT swaps. 

The news coincides with the integration of NFT marketplace, Magic Eden, with the LayerZero protocol. This means traders can now purchase and sell Omnichain non-fungible tokens (ONFTs) across supported chains. 

At launch, these capabilities will be available to Ethereum and Polygon, though they will soon be available to more chains.

In an interview with Blockworks, LayerZero’s head of strategy Irene Wu said that the gas abstraction tool, which they have named “Gas Station,” was designed to help users create a more seamless experience when purchasing and moving NFTs from one chain to another.

“If a collector or an end user is only familiar with one ecosystem, they tend to only have one gas token in their wallet,” Wu said. “Gas abstraction enables the quoting and exchange upfront of gas tokens.”

Gas Station was a collaborative project between Magic Eden and LayerZero, and will enable users to purchase NFTs directly through the Magic Eden app or platform without needing to go to a centralized exchange to swap or borrow their tokens. 

“The way Gas Station works is actually quite different from hot wallets who are charging a gas fee upfront. What is unique about this is that it isn’t a service, it’s an entirely open-sourced protocol-based solution, it’s decentralized and doesn’t put the security in the hands of a third party,” Wu said.

Cross-chain NFTs can be especially useful in gaming protocols, Wu explained. 

Read more: NFTs need to be about connecting creators with collectors, says Magic Eden’s Huang

“If you’re designing your game, you need the gaming assets and the currency to be able to move across all these networks or at least be able to deliver an abstracted user experience that is chain agnostic,” she said. “I would say almost every NFT creator and gaming studio is thinking about interoperability right now.”


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the On the Margin newsletter.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Salt Lake City, UT

MON - TUES, OCT. 7 - 8, 2024

Blockworks and Bankless in collaboration with buidlbox are excited to announce the second installment of the Permissionless Hackathon – taking place October 7-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve partnered with buidlbox to bring together the brightest minds in crypto for […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Permissionless is a conference for founders, application developers, and users. Come meet the next generation of people building and using crypto.

recent research

Blinks Report Image.png

Research

Blinks enable the ability to vampire attack user monetization of existing networks by inserting onchain and financialized functionalities directly within the popular social feeds and digital experiences of today.

article-image

I was excited about being on the precipice of realigning societal incentives and solving many issues plaguing our modern financial world

article-image

Cypherpunk Holdings has rebranded to Sol Strategies in a pivot to a Solana-first investment approach

article-image

BitGo’s wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) has a new custodial challenger

article-image

Make no mistake: Tether makes a ton of money. But exactly how much depends a lot on the price of bitcoin.

article-image

A new report on stablecoin activity in emerging markets shows their immense popularity in Nigeria

article-image

Version 2.0 brings users closer to a “Coinbase experience”