Axelar vs. LayerZero vs. Nomad vs. Wormhole vs. Celer IM vs. anyCall vs. Hyperlane vs. deBridge — Introduction Based on our experience talking with developers, interacting with users, and pitching our product at LI.FI, it seems the term “cross-chain bridge” has become synonymous with “token bridge” — meaning a liquidity network or trusted third party facilitating the transfer of token X from chain A to chain B.

Snapshot: The Bridging Ecosystem in Q3 2022 — Introduction Like it or not, the “crypto” ecosystem is multi-chain, as over 30 chains hold more than $100 million in total value locked. One of the core pieces of infrastructure holding together the current landscape is “bridges,” which let blockchains move data (like tokens) from chainA to chainB. This research piece…

At LI.FI, we often talk about bridge security and the need for bridges to be “trustless” or trust minimized. But what does that mean? Despite the term “trustless” being widely used to describe blockchains and smart contracts, people often get confused about what it really means. It’s one of those…

Classifying Bridges As We Know Them — The Crypto ecosystem has evolved rapidly over the last decade. Ever since the release of the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008, there has been tremendous innovation in the space and widespread, almost mainstream, adoption. While every year in crypto is unique, 2021 changed the ecosystem in ways that have people interested…

Preview Twitter threads, conference talks, and whispered conversations among those building in the “multi-chain reality” are riddled with all sorts of questions about stablecoin bridges. Do stablecoin bridges represent the potential solution, or end-game, for interop? Will stablecoins bridges dominate cross-chain volume and render liquidity networks obsolete? Could stablecoin bridges actually…

Pt.2 Bridge Aggregation in a Multi-Chain World — Introduction Previously, we defined crypto aggregation theory by tweaking a framework introduced in Stratechery during the 2010s that described web2 business models pioneered by Airbnb, Netflix, and Uber. In this article, we narrow down the scope of crypto aggregation theory to bridge aggregation: specifically analyzing the complex state of the bridge…

Understanding Finality Risks in Bridges — Understanding What Happened With Ethereum Last Week On Thursday, May 11th, and Friday, May 12th, Ethereum encountered an unexpected problem that disrupted block finality for roughly two hours in total. During the two network stoppages (we’re reticent to call it an outage here at LI.FI), …

Pt1. The Evolution of Aggregation Theory — Introduction The case for aggregation in crypto (and specifically in the bridge industry) is layered and requires background information on a variety of interlinked topics — to the point that a two-part article was necessary. In part one, we will define the relationship between crypto and “aggregation theory,” a topic that…

Understanding Crypto’s Multi-Chain Reality — Introduction The crypto industry has evolved rapidly since 2021 (when LI.FI launched), with the multi-chain thesis becoming increasingly evident in real-time. This article is written to compare and contrast why and how developers and/or users should utilize different types of chains being built, including EVM chains, smart contract networks built on…