Envisioned with their desires in mind, Evertwine stands tall on four mighty pillars: integrated tokenomics, NFTs, staking and yield farming, backed by cutting-edge protocols. Together, these elements forge a path towards a smoother and more refined user journey, accommodating players of all expertise levels, and embracing both newcomers and seasoned veterans of card game mechanics and blockchain game trading. At Exordium, inclusivity is their guiding principle. They strive to create a fair and vibrant ecosystem where every individual can forge…
1.4 k views
A Complete Guide On Blockchain Bridges – How Do They Work
Since the launch of the first blockchain-based system, many others have followed, and the crypto industry has continuously grown. However, blockchains aren’t similar and come with different strengths and weaknesses. For example, Ethereum, launched in 2015, has excellent smart contract advantages but severe scalability issues over the years.
All the blockchains, though, face a lack of interoperability challenges. Is there a possibility of having a system that allows users to use the strengths of different blockchains simultaneously? In recent years developers have been introducing systems that help improve user experiences in blockchains and DApps. These systems include blockchain bridges that allow users to access services from different blockchains while maintaining their asset value.
Blockchains bridges help in the interoperation of different blockchains. Therefore, users can use Ethereum while enjoying other advantages that Bitcoin offers. Let’s look at how blockchain bridges operate, the benefits they present, and some existing examples.
How Do Blockchain Bridges Operate?
A blockchain bridge provides a link between two blockchains. The blockchains can then transfer tokens and data between the ecosystems through the connection created. Therefore, keeping the supply of tokens constant across all platforms is essential.
Therefore, bridges use a mint-and-burn protocol to help ensure this. Once a token leaves one ecosystem, it is burned and locked. Then, in the opposite blockchain, an equivalent token is minted.
The operation of blockchain bridges can be split into two significant operations methods; federated bridges and trusted bridges.
For federated bridges, the projects first set a threshold. Anyone looking to become part of the federation managing overseas must first meet the established qualifications. Trustless bridges, on the other hand, allow anyone to be an agent. The agents are commissioned to ensure proper bridge transaction validation is done. Syscoin bridge, for example, uses agents who earn fees from ether-related bridge transactions.
Benefits Of Blockchain Bridges
Blockchain bridges solve Ethereum scalability challenges. They do this by reducing the bandwidth traffic on Ethereum and dispersing it to other less congested blockchains. As a result, the linking blockchains gain full acceptance from the users of their interoperating systems.
The bridges allow instant payment at the point of sale, especially for highly trafficked blockchains like bitcoin and Ethereum. The above can also be used by DApps that need immediate settlement, giving the best user experience, like Casino gamers.
Users using Ethereum also suffer slow speeds, but they can enjoy faster services with the introduction of blockchain bridges. Also, other blockchains linking with Ethereum may enjoy the smart contract advantages of Ethereum.
Disadvantage Of Using The Bridges
For ether connecting bridges, the users are exposed to vulnerabilities that come with using ether smart contracts. These include reentrancy attacks, gas limit attacks, and DOS attacks.
3 Best Examples of Blockchain Bridges
Syscoin Ethereum Bridge
This bridge allows the transfer of sys and sys assets from syscoin blockchain to the Ethereum blockchain and back. It uses cryptographic proofs between the two blockchains to allow token interoperability in a trustless bridge. Also, burn and mint protocols are used to ensure the safe transfer of tokens to and from the syscoin network.
The ERC-20 projects face bandwidth limitations and high costs, but now with the syscoin Ethereum blockchain, these tokens can easily cross into the syscoin ecosystem and take advantage. The ecosystem with the Z-DAG network can be able to process 60 thousand transactions per second. The above is faster than credit card and network visa processing. Therefore any assets passing through this system will get the speed and low charges advantages. In addition, Syscoins and its tokens will benefit from ether’s smart contracts and e-wallets.
RSK-Ethereum Blockchain Bridge
This bridge allows assets to move between Ethereum and RSK, which is powered by bitcoin, thus providing interoperability between Ethereum and bitcoin. That enables users to cross RSK and ERC 20 tokens between the two networks and uses the federation to take the event’s information or transaction to another chain. For example, the moment more than half of the federation has taken a vote for the transaction; the other chain creates tokens called ERC 777 of the exact amount locked on the other chain to the address account that sent the tokens in the original chain.
The interoperability is an advantage to bitcoin users since they can cross their BTC to RSK, and thus they get the smart contract advantage of ether. Also, since bitcoin and ether are the two largest digital asset platforms, bitcoins can easily take advantage of the interoperability between RSK and Ethereum to purchase ether assets. RSK is still planning to increase the strengths of this token bridge to be fully decentralized and trustless.
Wanchain Interoperable Platform
Wanchain uses some form of atomic swaps to allow for the linking of transactions to the Ethereum blockchain. Wanchain’s group of specialized nodes known as storemen locks some ether on the Ethereum blockchain, preventing it from being spent using secure multiparty computation. This happens by sending the ethers to an unknown private address, thus protecting them from being destroyed and used.
The ether in the unknown address becomes a mapping token on Wanchain. However, if the user wants to transfer it back to ether, the mapping token is burnt, and a threshold scheme is used to unlock the original ether. In this case, several storemen nodes must provide part of the unlock key.
Author’s Note
The ever-growing number of blockchain-based currencies has made it more essential to address the interoperability issue now than ever. Blockchain bridges, introduced at the start of 2020, create an interoperability platform.
Btc
Bitcoin
$26.227
price
price
0.17781%
price change
Bitcoin users now have a platform to use ether smart contract advantages. Also, with the increasing number of ether transactions, Ethereum will take advantage of the syscoin, which offers faster transaction processing at a lower price. Due to the rising advancements in crypto technology, it is possible that, very shortly, we will have an integrated system for all cryptocurrencies.
Stay up to date with our latest articles
