Connext has had an exciting quarter, highlighted by tremendous growth, new partnerships and use cases, exciting events, and more. This period not only reinforced the company’s foundational mission but also introduced cutting-edge features that bring us closer to a more interconnected Web3 ecosystem.
Here’s an overview of the key highlights covered in this comprehensive recap:
- Connext is the leading protocol for chain abstraction.
- We have expanded our support to include Metis, Mode, and Base, bringing the total number of supported chains to 10.
- The volume in the Connext network grew by over 50x, surpassing $1 billion in monthly bridge volume, with a 99.4% network uptime and high rates of fast transfer completion.
- Connext introduced its Restake From Anywhere module, a powerful industry-first use case, enabling ETH native restaking on L2s in partnership with Renzo Protocol. In the two months since launch, Connext has enabled over $320M in ETH to be restaked on L2s.
- We’re excited to see further industry adoption of the xERC20 token standard, an open crosschain standard built by and for the Ethereum community that is neither owned nor controlled by a specific protocol.
- The Connext DAO has shown strong governance and community engagement with active contributions.
- At ETHDenver, Connext showcased its various use cases through workshops and keynote presentations, and we’re gearing up for many more events globally throughout Q2.
Vision and Mission Recap
In Q1 2024, Connext reinforced its mission to serve as the go-to protocol for Chain Abstraction, allowing users to interact with any dApp, on any chain, using any asset. The launch of the Restake From Anywhere module exemplifies the power of the protocol, bringing to market an entirely new use case that has created immense value and has set off a new trend of L2 restaking with providers throughout the space.
From launching the Restake From Anywhere module to expanding network capabilities, these feats reinforce Connext’s commitment to its goal of creating a seamless user experience where users do not need to worry about the chain they are using. Let’s explore the strides made in Q1 that are bringing this vision closer to reality.
Protocol Performance and Milestones
Network Expansion
Connext expanded its support to include new chains like Metis, Mode, and Base, with many more to come. This increased the total number of supported chains to 10, with upcoming chain expansion plans aimed at delivering Connext’s best-in-class intent-based bridging, Chain Abstraction, and a variety of other use cases to an even broader user base.
Other chains like X Layer, Scroll, zkSync, Polygon zkEVM, Avalanche, and Mantle are on our launch roadmap, and more chains will be unveiled soon!
Bridge Volumes
This quarter's notable development was the increase in bridge volumes by orders of magnitude. As of March 31, 2024, here are our 30-day metrics:
- Number of Transactions: Over 108K transactions
- Volume: Bridge volume skyrocketed in Q1, exceeding $1B monthly throughout the network. We’re happy to report that this number appears to only be growing, making Connext one of the largest bridges by volume today.
Technical Milestones
We’re happy to see the resilience of the Connext network in action. While Connext saw in excess of a 50x increase in volume, the network remained stable and reliable. Here are some network highlights:
- 99.4% network uptime across all core services (sequencer, routers, messaging, and UI).
- Close to 90% of transfers completed in under 3 minutes through our intent-based architecture.
- 95% of transfers were completed in our “Fast Path” thanks to our network of solvers.
Restake From Anywhere Use Case
The introduction of Connext’s Restake From Anywhere module, a first in the industry, has significantly impacted the restaking ecosystem in the two months since its launch.
In partnership with restaking giant Renzo Protocol, Connext has facilitated the restaking of over $320M in ETH directly from L2s such as Arbitrum, Mode, Linea, Base, and BNB Chain. With this module integrated into Renzo, users are able to:
- Restake ETH from their chain of choice without having to leave these networks.
- Avoid Mainnet gas fees.
- Skip the complexities of bridging, swapping, and paying multiple gas fees. All of this can be done with just one click!
Read our explainer article here for a more in-depth look at Connext’s Restake From Anywhere module, including how it facilitates native L2 restaking and its advantages.
Further Adoption of xERC20
The xERC20 standard, also known as ERC-7281, experienced significant growth in adoption in Q1 of 2024. This open crosschain standard is being increasingly recognized for its utility and has been integrated or deployed by several prominent protocols, including:
- Renzo Protocol with ezETH
- KelpDAO with rsETH
- Bunni with xoLIT
- Router Protocol
- Space Token with xSPACE
Additionally, there are ongoing developments on the testnet.
The xERC20 standard addresses critical issues in other crosschain token standards, which are often proprietary and pose potential risks to the ecosystem. For instance, non-xERC20 tokens can lead to issuers losing control over their token contracts when bridged, with each bridge creating its own version of a token and locking those tokens within its ecosystem. This limits issuer control and exacerbates liquidity fragmentation and user experience issues.
In contrast, xERC20 ensures a single version of the token is minted no matter which bridge is utilized, eliminating liquidity fragmentation and allowing token issuers to maintain complete control over their contracts. This includes the ability to whitelist bridges and set minting limits, significantly minimizing risks during potential bridge exploits, an important feature that other proprietary standards do not offer.
We encourage all token issuers to adopt xERC20, leveraging its benefits to create a more secure and intuitive crosschain experience for your communities. To learn more about xERC20 tokens, visit xerc20.com
DAO Proposals and Growth
The Connext DAO has been a hive of activity, with several impactful proposals passed:
- Jan 25th — Karma Delegate Dashboard for Connext: The Karma team was awarded tokens from the DAO for their outstanding work on the dashboard created for the DAO.
- Feb 8th — Community Leadership Incentivization: This formed the Community Sub-DAO, which ensures ongoing support functions for the Connext community, maintaining operations and overseeing project and task completion.
- Feb 9th — Extend existing incentives program on Velodrome: This enabled Velodrome to continue its current program.
- Mar 6th — Rollup Ecosystem Education Partnership Proposal: The Rollup now serves as an educational content partner for Connext, enhancing product awareness, increasing engagement, and supporting the product vision.
- Mar 20th — Execution Bond Change: With this proposal passing, the DAO execution bond will be adjusted to 2 WETH. This change streamlines the proposal execution process, making it quicker and easier. Additionally, the oSnap team can now automatically request and execute proposals.
- Mar 21st — Connext Expansion Proposal V2: This allows the Connext Foundation to choose which chains to support without requiring a vote for each chain. The DAO will be informed of all plans on a separate forum thread.
- Mar 24th — Retroactive Funding Proposal for xPollinate Development: This proposal retroactively provides tokens to the 1Hive/Buzz DAO team for their early contributions to create an interface for users to bridge to and from the xDAI (Gnosis) chain.
The active engagement with the Connext demonstrates that the protocol is not only growing in terms of adoption and network activity but also further decentralizing and building a strong, community-driven foundation. To join our DAO, become part of our community, or explore recent RFCs, visit the Connext Forum.
ETH Denver 2024 Highlights
During our time in Denver, our team actively engaged with the community by participating in various side events. We also delivered keynotes on topics such as Chain Abstraction, the xERC20 token standard, and our Restake From Anywhere module.
Check out our post on X for a detailed breakdown of what we presented during each event.
Looking Ahead
Events
Connext will be at various events throughout Q2, including Consensys Austin, dAppcon in Berlin, and events throughout Asia. We are also excited to announce a large activation at the Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC) from July 8–11, 2024.
Vision for the Next Quarter
The journey of Connext in Q1 2024 reaffirms the team’s enthusiasm and dedication to building a unified Web3 space. As we look ahead, this shared vision and commitment will continue to propel Connext forward, breaking new ground in the quest for a world where the interchain is abstracted. This future will allow users to utilize dApps without needing to personally engage with the underlying infrastructure, much like in the experiences we see today in Web2 applications.
Follow Connext on X and join our Discord to stay updated on our journey and future engagements.
About Connext
Connext is a network for fast, trustless communication between chains and rollups. It is the only interoperability system of its kind that does so cheaply and quickly without introducing any new trust assumptions. Connext is aimed at developers looking to build bridges and other natively crosschain applications.
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