Thread by @alexeiZamyatin

Millions have been raised for interoperability - via trusted bridges.

@wormholecrypto @MultichainOrg @axelarcore @CelerNetwork @nomadxyz_ @LayerZero_Labs and now @EclipseFND

Needed today - but temporary solutions⏳

A thread on the future of trustless bridges 🌉👇
1/12

https://twitter.com/EclipseFND/status/1574798769950007299

2/12
We have known how to build decentralized bridges for years💡

Light client <> Light client bridges are the future. No additional trust required, only trust the chains you interact with. 🎉

Problem: these take time to build...

But demand is higher than ever!

3/12
So, in this market VCs bet money on centralized bridges 💰

All operate more or less the same way: a group of operators run a multisig.

MPC? Threshold signatures? Secure hardware? ZKPs? 🎁

All burns down to the same: a small, pre-defined group controls user funds. 👥🏦

4/12
The current state of interoperability validates this thesis, however. 🤔

We've known how to do it - but no one has... Or have they?

IBC works, but only between Cosmos chains (same type) for now.
Polkadot's XCM works between Polkadot chains.

What's the main blocker? 🔍🛑

5/12
Light clients. The thing that let's us run nodes on our mobile phones. The secret sauce to trustless bridges. 🪄

Efficiently verifying the state of another blockchain has been a topic or research for a decade (since Bitcoin!).

And indeed: they are hard to build. 🔬🧪🔨

6/12
Why? Not all chains are built with light clients in mind.

One would think "duh, why?"

But it's actually a hard problem that requires diving into cryptographic primitives & hence not always possible without limiting functionality of a blockchain when racing to market📈

7/12
Thankfully, all major networks are working on light clients 🚀

And the race for the first fully *trustless* bridge between 2 smart contract chains is on 🏁🏁

The contenders? 👇

8/12
*Side note*: Trustless #BTC <>X bridges already work thanks to @InterlayHQ 😇

However, the mechanism used (light client + decentralized network of collateralized operators on Bitcoin) is not the most efficient when bidirectional light clients are possible.

9/12
So, who'll launch the first trustless DeFi<>DeFi bridge?👀

@Polkadot 's ETH bridge is incoming Q1/2023.

@cosmos 's IBC is in the works for ETH (eta?) and Polkadot (Q1/2023).

@NEARProtocol 's ETH bridge is trustless but only 1 way. Full eta unclear.

10/12
@avalancheavax launched an SGX (Intel hardware) bridge (ie, trusted). Light client bridges eta?

@solana is heavily invested in @wormholecrypto. Light client bridge WIP since 2020. Eta?
--
My bet: in 2023, @Polkadot or @cosmos first, @NEARProtocol following Polkadot 🏁⏳

11/12 Conclusion:

In 2-3 yrs we will have trustless light-client bridges between all major Defi chains 🌉

Trusted bridges will focus on new chains. A smaller market, likely dwindling with the rise of interoperable appchains on ETH, DOT, Cosmos, AVA, Near.

Few will survive 🌉🧨

12/12 Today...
Trusted bridges are needed right now, no question. Quite a few have great teams with massive brainpower.

But they will have to adapt as the tides change and light clients become more and more efficient.

The clock is ticking... ⏳

If you made it until here, a reshare the first tweet is appreciated to help educate web3 on bridges 📚

https://mobile.twitter.com/alexeiZamyatin/status/1574865042075533312