Table of Contents
Researcher
1. Researcher Comment
Interoperability involves more than just connecting different blockchain networks. It's about connecting anything with a blockchain, including corporate backends.
Recently, several exciting attempts have been made to extend interoperability:
Intent: This allows users to express transactions on any chain that can be resolved.
SWIFT and CCIP: This connects a bank's backend with a blockchain.
zkEVM and corporate backend: This allows a corporate backend to use a zkEVM while retaining sensitive data and provides proof of computation on-chain.
This month had more development and research reports come out and showed some successful implementation. For example bringing bank’s liqudity on-chain. Not just a single country’s banks but from various countries.
2. Major Updates
2.1 SWIFT and CCIP: Bringing Bank Liquidity to On-Chain
Source: Swift Unlocks Potential of Tokenisation With Successful Blockchain Experiments
Swift, the global financial messaging network, collaborated with multiple financial institutions, including BNP Paribas, Citi, and Lloyds Banking Group, to develop a pilot solution utilizing its own network and the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) by Chainlink to explore the feasibility of allowing financial institutions to interact with tokenized assets and conduct transactions on both public and private blockchain platforms using their existing back-end systems.
This report suggests that by utilizing the existing messaging standards of Swift in conjunction with CCIP, interoperability between traditional financial systems and emerging blockchain technologies can be facilitated. The report also notes that financial institutions are more likely to integrate blockchain technology into their current infrastructure rather than building new systems. This could allow for traditional finance assets to be easily moved onto On-Chain.
2.2 MMA - The most secure cross-chain messaging up to date
Source: MultiMessageAggregation/multibridge: Send Cross-Chain Messages through Multiple Bridges
Multi-Message Aggregation (MMA) is a solution for cross-chain messaging that enhances communication by transmitting messages from one EVM chain to another through multiple Arbitrary Messaging Bridges (AMBs). Unlike traditional methods that depend on a single AMB, MMA enables message senders to forward messages through multiple AMBs, ensuring the security of the destination chain even if one AMB is compromised.
2.3 Skip Announces Block SDK
Source: Skip Protocol introduces “Block SDK”
Skip has developed plug-and-play lanes on the Block SDK, which enables chains to fully customize blocks for specific use cases. The SDK is made up of Cosmos SDK and ABCI++ primitives and transforms chain blocks into a "highway" with individual "lanes," each providing a unique function. In addition to in-protocol MEV recapture and Oracles, Skip has created lanes that protocols can use. Developers can also create their own custom lanes with the Block SDK to tailor their blocks to specific requirements.
In terms of interoperability, this is important since a block can produce and process diverse types of transactions, potentially from other chains. This means that there can be diverse cross-chain activities and apps.
3. Fundraising
The data was collected from DefiLlama's raises page.
3.1 ZetaChain (Source)
ZetaChain is a Layer-1 blockchain network that aims to establish a standard for interoperability. It enables the connection of multiple other blockchains in a secure manner, and can be thought of as a highway with multiple lanes that allow for peak functioning interoperability of different network chains. It is currently in a testnet period.
The platform raised $27 million in equity funding from investors on August 16, 2023, supporting its chain-agnostic platform and accelerating its mission to offer the public EVM-compatible L1 blockchain.
4. More Reads
4.1 Projects Updates
Magnata announced the launch, Multi-Rollup interchain Infrastructure.
Alt Layer partners with hyperlane for cross-chain functionalities.
Hyperlane V3 has been announced, which provides custom hooks and single call API.
4.2 Suggested Reads
This article discusses how major rollups interoperate with their Layer 1, Ethereum, and their vision for interoperability for rollup frameworks. The rollup landscape is fragmented, with many projects launching on Ethereum and offering a rollup framework, each with its solution for cross-chain interoperability. To achieve seamless interoperability, shared resources are the direction to be pursued, such as shared sequencer/prover and shared standards.
Visa has released a report detailing their progress in paying blockchain gas fees with Visa Card using Account Abstraction.
Rather than sending the User Operation request directly to the blockchain, the wallet first sends the User Operation and Visa card credentials to the paymaster web service. The web service uses gas fee information to calculate the appropriate cost to charge the user in fiat currency. Based on the card credentials provided, the Card-issuer may authorize the card payment.
This article delves into what intent is and the impact it can bring. It also covers the current landscape of intent, including Essential, Anoma, Suave, Propellerheads, OKcontract, CoW Swap, and Skip protocol.
This article provides a complete overview of projects that aim to utilize intent-related and account abstraction technologies.
This report analyzes the current state of cross-domain protocols, focusing on their potential to mitigate MEV. The paper introduces a new categorization of MEV as either intrinsic-extractable or time-extractable value and compares the MEV occurring in different protocol classes. It then evaluates the functionality of current implementations and determines the technical barriers that these protocols face.
The report identifies sequencers and order-flow auctions as protocols with the greatest potential to mitigate MEV, but also with some of the biggest technical barriers. The paper's methodology provides a framework for comparing cross-domain protocols and analyzing their MEV mitigation capabilities.
ADR-13: Enshrined IBC by Bo Du from Polymer Labs
According to ADR-13, one solution to the issues with interoperability is to enshrine IBC into the "chain kernel" at the same level as consensus. By doing so, interoperability can be standardized across all three layers of the interoperability model without compromises. Moving the transport and state layers from user space to kernel space enables proving state across chains and each chain to have sovereignty over its view of the rest of the network and between chains.
The report also discusses decoupling the app layer from the transport layer for virtual IBC, which enables asynchronous binding, remote execution, and integration. IBC Outpost enshrines IBC logic over the virtual IBC interface, forming an IBC Network mesh. IBC aims for slow adoption over the long-term time horizon to establish itself as a de facto industry standard. Bridges today have similarities to historic proprietary networking protocols.
Thanks to Kate for designing the graphics for this article.
