Why web3 deserves safe bridges in order to avoid the next $1B hack
Blockchains are gaining momentum and Web3 has ambitions for mass adoption with a record 34 thousand new developers having contributed to the space in 2021. The status quo is, however, that blockchains don’t currently talk to each other and it’s quite difficult to build crosschain apps or to transfer funds or data between chains in a safe way.
That’s where Connext steps in: our network enables a fast, trust-minimized communication between blockchains. Unlike other bridging projects in the space, Connext does not utilize third parties that introduce security assumptions. This means users can bridge their funds and developers can build cross-chain applications in a way that retains the security properties of underlying chains.
Recent major bridge hacks, such as the $650m Ronin hack, show how very important safe communication between blockchains is.
Without bridges blockchains will remain disconnected from each other
Blockchains were created as an innovative system to keep assets and data secure, transparent and hard to hack. The major blockchains, including Ethereum, Avalanche or Polygon, are succeeding in this vision, as manipulating them would require a huge financial and technical effort.
However, as crypto and blockchains become more mainstream and popular, they face a structural issue: they’re disconnected from each other and don’t know what happens outside of their ecosystem. This means that, just like in the early days of the Internet where various protocols were incompatible, disconnected, and using the Web was tedious, blockchains today cannot talk to each other: they aren’t connected. This results in a situation where tokens, dapps and NFTs exist in different ecosystems that are siloed and completely disconnected from each other. If web3 is to reach mass adoption, this situation cannot last. At Connext, our mission is to create safe, trustless ways that allow blockchains to share information between each other. This brings benefits to users who are able to transfer crypto between chains and, of course, for devs, who are able to build applications working across chains.
Unsafe bridges lead to hacks
The current reality is that most bridges, which we need for Web3 to be truly useful to everyone, are the weakest link between ecosystems as several researchers, including Vitalik Buterin, have pointed out:
The reason for this vulnerability is that bridges do not inherit the security of the chains they connect. Their architecture adds an extra piece to be trusted, one that is often controlled by just a few people. This means they are also more prone to being hacked, as it happened to the recent Ronin bridge:
Connext, the only bridge as safe as the blockchains it connects, is doing it differently.
At Connext, we have decided to prioritize security from the start by making our solution as safe as the blockchains it connects. Our belief is that we can use blockchain technologies to build incredibly powerful public goods that are accessible to everyone and bring a benefit to the world. Bridges are so far the basic use of this way of making blockchains talk to each other. Our aim is to expand the potential of cross-chain building by providing developers with interoperability protocols, tools that allows them to “operate” or build applications and solutions running on multiple chains
Our bridge and interoperability protocol have by far the most secure design among EVM compatible chains. The Connext architecture is based on smart contracts, and a process flow that prevents anyone from losing funds, or even worse, from getting them stolen.
Why the Connext security model is the safest
In designing the new upgrade of the protocol , we understood that the only way to overcome the challenges and minimize the tradeoffs is to abandon a monolithic system, and build a modular stack. We called it the Modular Interoperability Stack.
We realized the most secure communication path for a given chain is provided by its native messaging layer, which is normally called a canonical bridge. Examples of these include the Optimism & Arbitrum Rollup Bridges, the Polygon PoS Bridge, and the GnosisChain Arbitrary Messaging Bridge.
Connext plugs into these battle-tested pieces of infrastructure to transport and secure messages.
On top of this mechanism, and thanks to our network of routers and liquidity providers, Connext’s users enjoy fast and cheap liquidity while enjoying an experience as safe as the blockchains it connects.
We are focused on implementing the best security practices, like circuit breakers, to further reduce the attack surface and possibility that something can go wrong.
Amarok is the next step in building cross-chain applications
While bridging is the core use right now, we believe the future lies in building apps that talk to multiple blockchains, spurring a new way of innovation with dApps that enable cross chain lending, cross chain governance, cross chain yield farming, and much more.
Connext is aiming to become the interchain communication network that developers use to build fully expressive cross chain applications. Our thesis on how to do this is to move towards modularizing the specific functionalities that make up crosschain communication by working with partners instead of working on a monolithic system. To find out more about the interoperability stack and our network hardfork (codenamed Amarok) that we’re releasing today, click here.
The first $1B hack is bound to happen — why safe bridging is crucial to protect your funds
The list of bridge hacks is getting longer (with new hacks happening), and with bigger figures. A $1B hack is not a matter of if, but when.
In order to protect your funds, you really must pay attention to which bridge you entrust your money to and which interoperability protocol you build on your next cross-chain app. These choices will only continue to grow in importance and only with trustless bridging that makes connectivity between blockchains as safe as the blockchains it connects, will we be able to avoid the next 1B hack and safely step into the world of cross-chain apps (xApps).
About Connext
Connext is a network for fast, trustless communication between chains and rollups. It is the only interoperability system of its type that does this cheaply and quickly without introducing any new trust assumptions. Connext is aimed at developers who are looking to build bridges and other natively cross-chain applications. To date, over $1.5b in transactions have crossed the network.
Co-written with Julia Szyndzielorz
The previous header image for this article was created and owned by https://quantumaitrading.net/. It has since been removed. Connext is in no way affiliated with and does not endorse Quantum AI.
