Axelar explained: general message passing and cross-chain composability
Thread675 words
Explains Axelar as a Cosmos SDK PoS chain that enables interoperability through general message passing, gateway contracts, threshold signatures and untrusted relayers. Bullish on AXL as it supports 40+ chains.
Key claims
Axelar supports more than 40 chains
One functional relayer suffices for liveness, relayers are not trusted for safety
Can connect chains via light clients, ZKP verification or IBC
0/ @axelarcore’s cross-chain messaging protocol is a game-changer for interoperability. It enables seamless & secure liquidity bridging and allows for true cross-chain composability 🌐
$AXL will be BIG 👀🚀
a 🧵 on @axelarcore & why it matters (0/18) 🔍👇
1/ what is Axelar on a high level?
@axelarcore is an app-specific PoS blockchain running tendermint consensus built using the @Cosmos SDK
it's purpose is to enable interoperability between otherwise isolated blockchain networks through general message passing among chains
2/ why does Axelar matter?
@axelarcore matters because interoperability & liquidity fragmentations are two core issues that the blockchain ecosystem faces today
many traditional bridges are multisig-based and centralized by nature, making them prone to exploits
3/ @axelarcore's general message passing protocol can overcome these security issues and enable more secure liquidity bridging
but @axelarcore is not just bridging technology. It also enables cross-chain smart contract calls and hence cross-chain composability for dApps
4/ but how does Axelar work?
so at its core @axelarcore is a decentralized state machine responsible for facilitating cross-chain requests. The network supports a few key protocols, such as Cross-Chain Gateway Protocol (CGP)
5/ CGP is at the heart of the system & allows for new chains to be easily onboarded with no constraints on the consensus rules (which is what limits the implementation of #IBC beyond the @cosmos ecosystem. After implementation, CGP allows chains to transfer information among them
6/ to connect a new chain to @axelarcore, Axelar gateway contracts need to be ported to the smart contracts’ language of that platform.
7/ he contracts are “universal”, as they do not depend on the consensus or state of any other chains. For instance, almost the same contracts are reused across all #EVM chains
8/ next, a certain minimal threshold of the Axelar network validators need to run nodes to be able to verify requests in/out of the gateway contracts (Threshold Signature Scheme, a.k.a. TSS)
9/ the threshold is a tunable parameter in the system and will be set based on the experimentations in the testnet. When a transaction on chain A arrives at the gateway contract, it needs to be relayed to @axelarcore
10/ relayers are responsible for monitoring these gateway contracts, and upon seeing an inbound request, forwarding it to the @axelarcore network (see visualization in tweet 8)
11/ subsequently, the validators will query their RPC endpoints for chain A, vote on the transaction, triggering an internal state transition to process the transaction
12/ for example, if the transaction deposits some funds to the gateway contract, the validators record it and put it in a backlog from where it can be signed by all @axelarcore validators
13/ finally, anyone can relay the signed transaction to the destination chain (see visualization in tweet 8). It’s important to note that relayers are not trusted for the safety of the protocol...
14/ ... as the decentralized protocol executed by the @axelarcore validator verifies (where applicable) each request submitted by the relayers
furthermore, it’s sufficient to have 1 functional relayer to maintain liveness of the protocol
15/ what is also cool about @axelarcore, is that its protocol is highly versatile. It supports multi-path connectivity and can also enable inter-chain connectivity through light clients, #ZKP-based state verification (e.g. via validity proofs posted to #Axelar's VM) or #IBC
16/ @axelarcore already supports more than 40 chains from the @cosmos universe, the #EVM ecosystem and is working hard on expaning support for (zk)L2s on #Ethereum
@axelarcore is quickly becoming a primary interoperability hub that seamlessly connects all major ecosystems
17/ a bridge protocol leveraging #Axelar tech is for example @squidrouter 🦑
18/ stay tuned for more threads diving into trust minimized bridging and the different security & trust assumptions in @axelarcore and @LayerZero_Labs (both dropping next week) 👀
some cosmos & L2 chads that might be interested in this thread 🫶
@sergey_nog
@Flowslikeosmo
@DeFiMinty
@Only1temmy
@Slappjakke
@Louround_
@thesaint_
@0xSalazar
@CryptoShiro_
@ShivanshuMadan
@0xShivani
@hmalviya9
@daddysether
@bitsplaining
@kunalgoel
@hooeem
1/2
@redvelvetzip
@0xDinoEggs
@WinterSoldierxz
@0xSalazar
@CosmosHOSS
@TheDeFinvestor
@Cephii1
@RobinWhitney_
@cosmosibc
@Curious__J
@Cryptocito
@speicherx
@JayJaboneta
@zmanian
@sunnya97
@IBC_GANG
@Thyborg_
@johnniecosmos
@CryptoLikeMo
2/2
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What came next · since 29 Jun 2023
Show how the covered asset moved
This explainer walks through how things work without making a call on the token, so price moves since publication are shown as market context.
Covered, no call
Since then
Zero has written 11 more pieces on Axelar and $AXL since this one.
- Axelar on-chain data: 64 chains, GMP dominance and cross-chain volumeOn Axelar
- Axelar interchain dApps that could airdrop, and AXL staking up 26MCovers $AXL
- Interoperability guide v2: messaging, transport, bridges and proof layersOn Axelar
- The Ultimate Interoperability Guide: landscape of cross-chain protocolsOn Axelar
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