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- 1 Sergey Nazarov, the co-founder of Chainlink, highlighted the vulnerabilities of bridges.
- 2 He said that most bridges in which crypto users have heavily invested are far from secure.
- 3 While exposing the bridge’s frailties, he mentioned the security infrastructure of Chainlink itself.
Cross-chain bridges became quite popular due to their security prospects. They have also played an instrumental role in connecting various blockchain networks. The overarching solutions have transferred the assets with seamless interoperability. In addition, they have established an extensive reach across several chains. However, it seems that they may not be as meritorious as they look. At least that’s what Chainlink’s co-founder, Sergey Nazarov, thinks.
Are Cross-Chain Bridges Really That Efficient?
In a recent interview, Sergey Nazarov expressed his views on cross-chain bridges. He said most of these bridges are far from secure. And that is important because, all this time, they have been sold for this reason. He highlighted a pattern of investment in the crypto industry. According to him, people in this domain tend to fall for inefficient projects.
He stated that there are examples of networks that promise to deliver great results. But they ultimately failed and made a fool out of investors. Nazarov also brought attention to the Nazarov infrastructure, which is difficult to decentralize. The reason behind this is the core mechanism of a bridge that’s not blockchain-based. On forked blockchains, developers are incentivized to mint assets.
But that’s not the case with bridges. They are single servers that relay information and value between chains. The very functionality of these bridges makes them insecure. That’s because simple bridging does not safeguard information from third-party exposure. The businesses may say that they’re decentralized but they work under the control of a single entity.
Even the multiple nodes, which are supposedly decentralized entities, are a single network. The problem lies in its interconnected network; if one node fails, all of them go down. Moreover, it’s not scalable because one network cannot handle all transactions across different chains.
What Does Nazarov Suggest?
Instead of bridges, Nazarov suggests a cross-chain communication platform. He says that it would be run by multiple separate networks that would autonomously respond to risks. To explain it more, he referred to Chainlink’s own cross-chain interoperability protocol (CCIP). He said that the platform works with three different networks on every bridge.
Prominently, it functions with two networks to validate and execute every transaction. The third network is deployed to approve or deny the transactions. Known as the Risk Management Network, it assesses the transactions based on their risks. This means that the decentralized app or the bank can determine the risk factors. And they won’t need to be actively involved in the process. On top of that, the risk management mechanism will continue to evolve.
The developers can ensure that they adapt to the new risks and challenges surfacing in the space. Notably, CCIP has drawn the attention of many institutions since its launch at ETH CC in Paris. Very recently, it collaborated with banking entities like ANZ, BNP Paribas, and BNY Mellon. Now, considering the ubiquity of bridges, it’s unlikely that projects will get rid of them anytime soon.
However, if they come across a better solution, things may change quickly.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
