Blockchain interoperability goes beyond moving data from point A to B

Cross-chain communication between blockchains is more than just moving data from point A to B, but how it can connect applications and users for enhanced experiences and fewer gas fees in Web3, outlined Sergey Gorbunov, Axelar Network co-founder and CEO, speaking to Cointelegraph’s business editor Sam Bourgi on Sept. 28 at Converge22 in San Francisco.

As the crypto industry has developed over the past few years, blockchain interoperability has seen a surge in demand, attracting venture capital and welcoming players, such as Axelar, which reached unicorn status in February. According to Gorbunov, the company, founded in 2020, started with a premise that cross-chain and multichain capabilities would come to define the crypto space. “The idea is not just to talk about how to connect A to B, but how to connect many to many, right? How to connect everybody with everyone else. And that includes applications and includes users,” he explained.

Interoperability is a buzzword in the crypto industry that refers to the ability of many blockchains to communicate, share digital assets and data, and work together, thereby sharing economic activity. As an infrastructure, interoperability is crucial for broader adoption of the technology, as Gorbunov explained:

“We need an ability for the user to execute one call on one chain, and that transaction actually taking place on other chains without them having to go and get a native token of that chain, pay gas, execute themselves and move it back and forth.”

Axelar’s CEO highlighted that, beyond better experiences for users, interoperability also means higher economic outcomes, as interoperable chains can have unified liquidity and thus spend less on gas fees for transactions. “Our Web2 experience is a lot simpler, and we have to get to the same level in Web3 with simpler experiences, and that is what cross-chain enables us to do, to help build those simple experiences.”

At Converge22, Axelar was announced as one of the networks set to integrate with Circle, the financial technology company behind the USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EUROC). Circle is launching a new cross-chain transfer protocol to help developers build frictionless experiences for sending and transacting USDC natively across blockchains.

Earlier this week, Axelar disclosed a partnership with Mysten Labs, the infrastructure company behind the Sui blockchain, to deliver cross-chain communication for developers through General Message Passing and advance the prospect of a so-called “super DApp.”

Writer and editor Sam Bourgi contributed to this story.