Q: In an Ethereum ecosystem where new L2 and L3 are constantly emerging, what does “scalability” mean?
A: Programmable interoperability – a long word for a simple idea
Cross-chain bridges, despite often suffering from poor user experience and security risks, have become synonymous with blockchain interoperability. A new generation of new arbitrary messaging protocols has begun to change this narrative – for example, Chainlink CCIP, LayerZero, Wormhole, and Axelar’s General Message Passing.
Now programmable interoperability is the next step in the cross-chain narrative – at a critical time when modular infrastructure like Celestia and Eigenlayer are emerging, signaling that the Ethereum ecosystem will be more decentralized than ever. With programmable interoperability:
Users on any EVM chain can easily interact with applications and assets on any other chain with just one click.
Provides simple connections for new EVM chains with low developer burden - covering any consensus method (e.g. ZK proof).
These two requirements require more than just a sequencer and a bridge. Only a programmable interoperability layer can enable L2-based scaling across applications and blockchains in the Ethereum ecosystem. Axelar has already begun integrating with projects such as Celestia, Eigenlayer, and other key Ethereum ecosystem extensions such as Lido and Frax. Together, these projects build a platform that enables fast and easy scaling of EVM-compliant applications and other applications.
Axelar is a programmable platform for connecting different blockchains. Through the Axelar virtual machine, cross-chain functions are automated and abstracted, creating a unified user experience and developer experience across multiple blockchains. This makes Web3 extensions similar to how SaaS components were implemented in Web2.
Abstract for users. With universal messaging, applications can send any payload and trigger multiple function calls across chains, enabling one-click user experience (UX).
Abstraction for application developers. Cross-chain token services automate the complex tasks involved in managing token supply across multiple chains.
Abstraction for blockchain developers. Cross-chain amplifiers automate new chain connections, instantly enabling network effects and any-to-any interoperability.
With programmable interoperability, cross-chain connections are simple, seamless, and hidden under the hood. Applications built on EVM L2 can scale to the entire Ethereum ecosystem. Developers can build once, run anywhere.
Architecture designed to scale
Axelar connects 56 blockchains, more than any other cross-chain network.
Cross-chain amplifiers will accelerate this advantage, enabling hundreds or even thousands of more blockchains to be quickly and easily connected. Cross-chain connections are expensive to establish and cannot be reused. Cross-chain Amplifier abstracts this complexity for developers: a unified user experience across EVM chains is a plug-and-play component of RaaS (rollup-as-a-service) and RDKs (rollup development kits), used in new Build applications on L2.
Just 100 blockchains equals approximately 4,950 potential connections. Pairwise networks can never scale.
For an ecosystem consisting of hundreds (let alone thousands) of blockchains, a hub-and-spoke topology is required. Every new connection immediately gets a one-hop route to any other connected chain - the shortest path to scaling!
“Kubernetes for Web3”
The Axelar Virtual Machine (AVM) is a full-featured, Turing-complete state machine that provides a naturally multi-chain programmable environment. It allows applications to provide a unified user experience across multiple chains - which represents minimal effort for developers.
For more information about AVM, please visithere；
AVM has two main components:
Cross-chain amplifiers allow developers to establish connections to the Axelar network without permission. The end result is a scalable cross-chain technology that can accommodate future developments in the network layer.
Cross-chain Maestro allows developers to expand quickly with minimal extra work for developers. The motto is: build once, run anywhere – it’s a kind of Kubernetes for Web3.
Just recently, the first component of cross-chain Maestro went live on mainnet: the Interchain Token Service (ITS) automates the creation and management of cross-chain tokens that move across multiple chains, with native-like fungibility and customization Function. Learn more about cross-chain tokens or try the no-code portal for yourself: create a cross-chain token and win 10,000 AXL.
This is just the beginning of the cross-chain narrative. 🦾
