Understanding Cross-Domain Challenges in Blockchain

Table of Contents

The Domain ecosystem in Web3 has been witnessing a rapid expansion with the introduction of rollups and app-chains, bringing both opportunities and challenges. In this article, we delve into the current state of the blockchain landscape, exploring the hurdles faced and the ongoing efforts to enhance cross-domain transactions.

I. Current Blockchain Landscape and Challenges:

The current state of the blockchain landscape reflects a dynamic and rapidly evolving ecosystem. With the consistent influx of new rollups and app-chains each month, the blockchain industry is experiencing unprecedented growth and diversification. This surge in innovation has brought about a multitude of opportunities but has also given rise to several challenges that demand our attention.

Overview of the Current Blockchain Ecosystem:

The blockchain ecosystem, once characterized by a relatively straightforward structure, has now transformed into a complex and multifaceted network of interconnected solutions. This expansion is fueled by the continuous development and deployment of rollups and app-chains, each contributing unique features and functionalities. This diversification not only enhances the overall capabilities of blockchain technology but also presents novel use cases and avenues for exploration.

Challenges in Liquidity, Yields, and User Dispersion:

However, amid this burgeoning growth, challenges have emerged that warrant strategic solutions. Liquidity, a fundamental element in any financial ecosystem, has become fragmented across various blockchain solutions. Yields are dispersed, and users find themselves navigating through a decentralized landscape, often resulting in fragmentation. The dispersion of users and assets presents a significant hurdle in achieving optimal efficiency and user experience within the blockchain space.

Recognizing these challenges is crucial for the sustained progress of the blockchain industry. The need for aggregation becomes apparent as a means to address these issues effectively. In response to these challenges, numerous projects are actively engaged in efforts to enhance infrastructure, minimize trust dependencies, ensure interoperability, and refine language expressions within the blockchain realm.

In the subsequent sections, we will delve deeper into these challenges, exploring the intricate facets of cross-domain communication and transactions. By gaining a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape and its obstacles, we can better appreciate the innovative solutions being developed to propel the blockchain ecosystem into a more cohesive and user-friendly future.

II. Cross-Domain Communication Challenges:

The proliferation of rollups and app-chains in the blockchain landscape has ushered in a new era of possibilities, yet it has also given rise to intricate challenges in achieving seamless cross-domain communication. As these innovative solutions expand, their limitations become more evident, particularly in the realm of cross-rollup communication.

Expansion of Rollups and App-Chains:

The past few months have witnessed a remarkable surge in announcements pertaining to app-chains and rollups. These additions often leverage shared or derived security from existing protocols, contributing to the overarching cross-domain thesis. However, despite their potential, these rollups, in their current state, present communication challenges that echo those encountered by their predecessors.

Limitations in Cross-Rollup Communication:

Rollups, while able to harness liquidity and derive a portion of their censorship resistance from the underlying layer, grapple with limitations in cross-rollup communication. They essentially function as siloed expansions of Ethereum liquidity, encountering communication problems akin to those faced by previous blockchain solutions. Shared Sequencing setups offer promise in alleviating some of these challenges for sets of rollups, yet the broader issue of cross-rollup communication persists.

Issues with Transfers and Compatibility:

A poignant example of these challenges arises when attempting "trustless" transfers between different rollups. The absence of a chosen global state, transport layer, or in-protocol bridging/messaging system introduces complexities. Users seeking to transfer assets from one rollup to another must contend with probabilistic finality, challenge periods, and potential delays. Compatibility with different virtual machines, collateral management, and non-conditional transactions further compound the intricacies of cross-domain communication.

The underlying layer's finality, congestion, and throughput pose additional constraints. For instance, executing a trustless transfer between two rollups may necessitate waiting for probabilistic finality verification or navigating challenge periods, impeding the seamless movement of funds.

In the next section, we will explore potential solutions to these cross-domain communication challenges, including the role of token standardization and advancements in path-dependent token routes. By addressing these issues, the blockchain industry aims to pave the way for a more interconnected and efficient ecosystem.

III. Improving Cross-Domain Transactions:

Efficient cross-domain transactions stand at the forefront of blockchain development, and addressing challenges in this domain is essential for fostering a seamlessly interconnected ecosystem.

Token Standardization Challenges:

One of the key hurdles in cross-domain transactions lies in the diversity of token standards employed by various chains and rollups. Achieving universal compatibility becomes a complex task when tokens from different paths and routes exhibit non-fungible characteristics. The existing implementations, such as the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, encounter difficulties in reconciling tokens with distinct paths, leading to complications in user interactions and liquidity management.

Path-Dependent Token Routes:

The current state of cross-domain transactions faces the issue of path-dependent token routes. Tokens that follow different paths to a common end-state are designated as non-fungible, preventing their use in the same liquidity pool. The challenge lies in the encoding of the token's path within its denomination, utilizing SHA256 for fixed-length output. While this approach is rooted in security considerations, it introduces inconvenience for end-users and applications engaged in cross-domain interactions.

Solutions: Path Unwinding and Packet Forward Middleware:

To overcome these challenges, innovative solutions are emerging. Path unwinding, for instance, presents a method to resolve non-native denom issues by rerouting tokens back to their native chains before reaching the final destination. This approach introduces some latency but significantly reduces the complexity of token movements, especially in scenarios involving multiple hops and winding paths.

Another promising solution is the implementation of Packet Forward Middleware, designed specifically for the IBC protocol. This middleware allows a chain to route incoming IBC packets through the source chain, ensuring that tokens from different chains share the same denomination. By addressing the issue of non-fungibility, the middleware facilitates multi-hop IBC transactions, streamlining the process and reducing the need for users to navigate through multiple interfaces.

Enhancing User Experience and Frontend Design:

Beyond the technical aspects, enhancing the user experience is paramount in improving cross-domain transactions. Frontend design plays a crucial role in providing users with a seamless and intuitive interface for engaging in cross-domain interactions. Projects such as Squid, Catalyst, Socket, Li.Fi, and Connext are actively working on solutions to enhance the user interface and experience, contributing to a more user-friendly blockchain ecosystem.

In the subsequent section, we will delve into the incentivization and security measures required for robust cross-domain transactions, exploring the role of relayers, ICS-29, and the fees associated with packet relaying. By combining technical advancements with user-centric design, the blockchain industry aims to create a cross-domain environment that is both efficient and user-friendly.

IV. Incentivizing and Securing Cross-Domain Transactions:

As the blockchain ecosystem strives to overcome cross-domain challenges and enhance interoperability, the role of relayers becomes pivotal in facilitating secure and efficient transactions between diverse domains.

Relayer Role and Challenges:

Relayers, often operated by validator nodes, play a critical role in the cross-domain landscape by facilitating the transmission of packets and ensuring the smooth flow of data between different chains. However, this essential function comes with its set of challenges. Relayers typically rely on compensation from delegations to their validator nodes, creating a dependence on external funding sources. This reliance raises questions about sustainability and the long-term viability of the current model, prompting the need for innovative solutions.

ICS-29 and Relayer Incentivization:

In response to these challenges, ICS-29 emerges as a crucial protocol aiming to incentivize relayers effectively. This protocol introduces a mechanism to reward relayers for their contributions to the cross-domain ecosystem. By aligning the incentives of relayers with the overall success of cross-domain transactions, ICS-29 aims to create a sustainable model that ensures the continued participation of relayers.

Three Types of Fees:

Relayer incentivization involves a nuanced fee structure to compensate for the services provided. The three primary fees associated with packet relaying include:

1. Receive Fee: The fee associated with receiving packets on the relayed chain.

2. Acknowledgment Fee: Compensation for acknowledging the successful relay of packets.

3. Timeout Fee: In case of packet timeout or non-delivery, this fee addresses the delayed or unsuccessful transmission.

Censorship Resistance and Security Measures:

Ensuring the reliability and security of cross-domain transactions requires a commitment to censorship resistance and the implementation of robust security measures. Relayers must adhere to certain rules to incentivize proper behavior and deter malicious actions. These rules include timely packet delivery, acknowledgment of relayed packets, adherence to timeouts, and the exposure of relayer addresses to IBC modules for incentivization.

The decentralization of the relayer market is a crucial aspect of maintaining censorship resistance. The introduction of ICS-29, along with the fees associated with relaying, aims to attract more market participants, fostering a diverse and decentralized network of relayers engaged in cross-domain message passing.

Conclusion:

Incentivizing and securing cross-domain transactions are integral components in the ongoing efforts to establish a robust and efficient blockchain ecosystem. The introduction of ICS-29 and the delineation of relayer fees contribute to a more sustainable and decentralized model, aligning the incentives of market participants with the overall success of cross-domain interactions. As the blockchain industry continues to evolve, a transparent and incentivized relayer market holds the potential to scale cross-domain transactions, providing users with a more efficient and decentralized blockchain experience.

About Orochi Network

Orochi Network is a cutting-edge zkOS (An operating system based on zero-knowledge proof) designed to tackle the challenges of computation limitation, data correctness, and data availability in the Web3 industry. With the well-rounded solutions for Web3 Applications, Orochi Network omits the current performance-related barriers and makes ways for more comprehensive dApps hence, becoming the backbone of Web3's infrastructure landscape.

Blog

Understanding Cross-Domain Challenges in Blockchain

I. Current Blockchain Landscape and Challenges:

II. Cross-Domain Communication Challenges:

III. Improving Cross-Domain Transactions:

IV. Incentivizing and Securing Cross-Domain Transactions:

About Orochi Network

The Foundation of Decentralized AI: A Data Provisioning Layer

Understanding Dust Attacks in Web3: A Growing Concern

Advancements in Homomorphic Encryption: Large Look-up Table Evaluation

New Paradigm: Understanding the Intersection of AI and Crypto

Orosign Wallet