Best Cross Chain Protocols for Blockchain Interoperability – Today we’re going to talk about the problem of interoperability the ability for different blockchains to communicate with each other. So it’s important that blockchains can communicate with each other without depending on outward companies or projects because there are many different blockchains being created.

If blockchains can directly communicate with each other more information can be shared and assets can be shared.

In vs Out – Best Cross Chain Protocols for Blockchain Interoperability

So there are two different ways that people see projects trying to solve this issue.

The first is…projects that solve the problem within their own solution and the second relates to other projects that try to solve this problem outside of their solution.

For “in”…that are many projects that create their own slew of blockchains and they allow their blockchains to communicate with each other. For example, Cosmos is a network of blockchains that allow each other to communicate with their in-house protocol.

There are other projects that allow Ethereum and Bitcoin to directly communicate with each other and different blockchains from different projects.

Here’s a quick run-down:

“Intra” Cross-Blockchain Connectivity and Interoperability

Holochain – Best Cross Chain Protocols for Blockchain Interoperability

Holochain’s a good example. Holochain is not a blockchain but it’s a distributed ledger
technology and it allows different projects and users to have their own history of transactions. It uses something called a “DHT” to share information throughout the network. It has its own cross chain protocol.

It allows different ledgers (i.e., histories of transactions) to communicate with each other.

Nano – Best Cross Chain Protocols for Blockchain Interoperability

Another example is Nano. Nano and like Holochain, Nano is not a blockchain. It’s a “block-lattice”. Every user has a history of transactions. But the block-lattice line allows each of these users to communicate with each other.

EOS – Best Cross Chain Protocols for Blockchain Interoperability

A third example is EOS. EOS is a blockchain and it allows people to have their own EOS-based blockchain and it allows cross blockchain communication.

“Inter” Cross-Blockchain Connectivity and Interoperability

For projects that try to solve the problem outside of their solution
we have the following.

Wanchain – Best Cross Chain Protocols for Blockchain Interoperability

Wanchain is creating what is called a cross chain protocol to help different
blockchains here communicate directly with each other.

They made Ethereum and Bitcoin directly communicate with each other for instance.

Atomic Swaps – Best Cross Chain Protocols for Blockchain Interoperability

Another example is “Atomic Swaps”, “Atomic Swaps” like Wanchain
is a protocol. So Atomic Swaps and Wanchain are protocols that allow different blockchains
to communicate with each other. Atomic Swaps are pretty old in cryptocurrency speak.

Komodo (with BarterDEX) – Best Cross Chain Protocols for Blockchain Interoperability

A project called Komodo is building off of Atomic Swaps. They are enhancing Atomic Swaps
so they become more powerful. Komodo built something called BarterDEX which is a decentralized exchange, meaning that nobody controls it. It’s just an exchange that is based on Atomic Swaps.

 

That’s just a very quick look at some projects that are looking to solve the problem of cross blockchain communication with different approaches. We didn’t even touch the many projects that offer cross-chain functionality in even more creative ways.

This article by Natu Myers was originally published at FreeStartupKits.com: