Syscoin Developer Launches Ethereum-Compatible Layer 2 Network Secured by Bitcoin Miners

Sys Labs, the developer behind the Syscoin blockchain, which aims to combine Ethereum-style programmability with Bitcoin’s security, has launched a “layer 2” network called Rollux for cheaper and faster transactions.

Like the main Syscoin blockchain, the Rollux network is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine or EVM, the software that executes smart contracts on Ethereum. The project gets its security from Bitcoin miners via a process known as merged mining that originally was presented by Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto in 2010.

Just as layer 2 networks or “rollups” atop the Ethereum blockchain allow for faster transactions, the Rollux network can process 700 transactions per second assuming basic transfer, versus three to five per second on the base Syscoin layer, according to Sys Labs CEO Jagdeep Sidhu.

“Merged mining is a way to provide another system to open the doors to scale into a rollup,” Sidhu said in an interview. He said the project has been in the works for eight years.

Rollups like Optimism, Arbitrum and zkSync have profilerated atop Ethereum, notorious for its sometimes exorbitant fees, as a means of avoiding congestion. Bitcoin (BTC) is the original and largest blockchain and is considered the most secure, but lacks Ethereum’s programmability via smart contracts.