Interoperability is a multisyllabic word for a multi-faceted problem. How do you get blockchains to communicate with one another? Until recently, there’s been no easy way to achieve this, leaving assets isolated and smart contract-powered dapps siloed on their respective protocols. Before crypto assets can take over the world, first they need to escape the valley where they originated, a task which calls for building bridges.
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The Quest to Connect Crypto Networks
The cryptosphere is often described as being tribalistic on account of its factions’ skepticism of opposing altcoiners, whose ideology differs from theirs. Tribalism doesn’t just apply to crypto culture however: it’s also deeply woven into the architecture of the blockchain protocols themselves. Early civilizations were quite literally tribalistic due to the geographical difficulties of making it into the next valley, where strangers dwelled. Until recently, it was the same with crypto networks: litecoin could only exist on Litecoin, dash on Dash, while bitcoin cash and bitcoin core were destined to remain forever opposed, despite their shared history.
Siloed crypto networks are no better than the incompatible rails that define the traditional financial system, resulting in slow international transfers and high fees imposed by the monopolies that control them. If crypto assets are to deliver financial inclusion for the many, not just the few, someone needs to build the bridges and connect the valleys where the various tribes reside. This calls for complex architecture that can facilitate the cross-chain transfer of assets and enable networks to share resources. Despite the magnitude of the task, significant headway has been made in getting blockchains to “talk” to one another.
Building Bridges With Blockchains
Liquid Link typifies the sort of projects that are
