Hassan Maishera
Interoperability has long been a goal of blockchain developers, with various tech solutions advanced over the years. Back in the late 2010s, cross-chain bridges emerged as a promising solution for transferring assets between otherwise incompatible networks. All users had to do was lock up tokens in smart contracts on the source chain, mint the equivalent tokens on the destination chain, and hey presto – cross-chain value transfer was within reach!
Happy days? Ultimately, no: although they very quickly became the standard for interoperability between chains, the use of bridges to chain-hop was often a UX nightmare blighted by security vulnerabilities. What’s more, porting assets between chains fragmented DeFi’s liquidity, undermining its core promise of facilitating efficient capital allocation.
Over time, a solution once marketed as delivering trustless interoperability came to be known as a perennial hack victim, the punchbag of malicious actors. There had to be a better way.
A Bridge Too Far
First, a quick word on those hacks. Where to begin? 2022 seems as good a jumping-off point as any; that year, thieves stole over $3 billion from major bridges, including $650 million from Axie Infinity’s Ronin; $326 million from Wormhole; $566 million from BNB Chain’s bridge; and $100 million from Harmony’s Horizon. Clearly, these weren’t isolated incidents – around half of all DeFi exploits target cross-chain bridges.
While they initially appealed to users, bridges were seen by hackers as presenting a gilt-edged opportunity to access deep honeypots of locked assets through a variety of ingenious schemes. The fact is, any vulnerability in the mechanisms securing bridges can lead to catastrophic losses – and criminals relentlessly devised ways of doing just that.
Oftentimes, compromised private keys were cited as the cause of a breach. But whatever the reason, such incidents have conclusively dynamited the reputation of interoperable bridges.
From Chain-Hopping to Cross-Chain Communication
In retrospect, bridges were never more than a short-term solution; a means of proving that it was theoretically possible to transfer assets between blockchains. In recent years, omnichain technology built on the promise of bridges while solving the problem of liquidity fragmentation and substandard UX.
Omnichain architecture establishes a unified ecosystem wherein networks can interact natively without the headache of wrapping assets and navigating multiple different wallet interfaces.
We can see this in action through Dojima’s Omnichain Web, which was unveiled late last year. Conceived as the “internet for decentralized finance,” the Omnichain Web represents a universal framework for streamlined chain abstraction and cross-layer interaction, uniting EVM and non-EVM chains – as well as other L1s, L2s and DeFi protocols – under one umbrella.
The architecture of Dojima’s solution highlights why omnichain is superior to so-called interoperable bridges. While its Ragno Network indexes L1 chains to create a comprehensive backbone for cross-chain connectivity, its Builder Marketplace supplies developers with secure, tested templates and low-code tools for launching omnichain dApps.
Other features of Dojima’s tech stack include a Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machine (zkVM) created to facilitate communication between L2s, cross-chain rollups, and a Proof Network that ensures transaction integrity across multiple networks.
In short, the Omnichain Web eliminates the need for vulnerable bridge protocols while maintaining the security properties of legacy chains. Devs can focus on building innovative apps without stressing about the intricacies of reaching users on different networks.
Bringing Blockchain to the Mainstream
The Web3 industry has matured tremendously over the last decade, and though it was long considered an insuperable problem, seamless interoperability is finally becoming a reality. This is a testament to the intellectual foot soldiers and problem solvers working tirelessly to bring decentralized tech to the mainstream.
Already, less than a decade on from the first decentralized bridge, the bridge-based approach to interoperability seems like a historical artifact; a necessary but flawed stutter step toward true interconnectivity. Omnichain solutions like Dojima’s Omnichain Web show us what the next generation of cross-chain interaction looks like: secure, efficient, and truly seamless.
