First: Why cross-chain?
In recent years, a large amount of money has poured into the blockchain field, but it cannot be used for large-scale commercial applications in the short term. There are many problems, the most prominent of which is the interoperability between blockchains, which greatly limits the application space of blockchains. The chain-chain in the blockchain is highly heterogeneous. Each independent chain-chain network is a relatively independent network. Data information cannot be interconnected and there is a problem of information islands. The collaboration between various blockchain networks is very difficult, which greatly limits the development of blockchain applications, and the interconnection operations of blockchains are becoming more and more important. Whether it is a public chain or a private chain, cross-chain technology is the key to realizing the Internet of Value. It is a good medicine to rescue the blockchain from a decentralized island, and it is also a bridge connecting the blockchain and external chains.
Second: How is the cross-chain technology realized?
Cross-chain technology is to connect homogeneous or heterogeneous systems in the blockchain to realize operations on assets and data.
There are five mainstream cross-chain mechanisms. These mechanisms include: Notary schemes, Sidechains/relays, Hash-locking (Hash-locking), Distributed private key control, "Notary scheme + side chain" hybrid technology . Earlier cross-chain technology to reboxetine and BTCRelay represented, they pay more attention to the transfer of assets; the existing inter-chain cross chain focused on technology infrastructure; new FUSION achieve intelligent multi-currency contract, which is a very value The public chain can generate a wealth of cross-chain financial applications.
As can be seen from the above table, the relay cross-chain technology may be the first technology with large-scale commercial applications, because compared with other tri-folding technologies, it has a wider range of applications and supports isomorphic chains and easy-to-buy chains. Connect to each other. To be sure, with the development of technology, better cross-chain mechanisms may emerge in the future.
Third: The current market situation of cross-chain technology.
The above table shows the market situation of cross-chain projects in January 2019. As can be seen from the above figure, each project is greatly affected by the overall market environment, and the fluctuations are relatively large. Ripple ranks among the top, with a market value of 1.298.7 billion yuan. Established a global payment network, which is a typical real-time full payment system (RealTimeGrossSettlement, RTGS), which is a cross-bank electronic transfer system established in accordance with international standards. Ripple.com can also act as a strong competitor in the field of cross-border remittances, through the SWIFT system of the Global Banking Financial Telecommunications Association of the banking industry. However, there are still some cross-chain projects, such as ICON, whose currency is about to return to zero. At present, it is facing huge operational difficulties.
Fourth: The application status of cross-chain technology.
Cross-chain technology has a wider range of uses, such as.
Liquid assets: assets can flow between multiple chains and be utilized;
atomic transactions: exchange assets between chains at the same time;
cross-chain data predictor: chain A needs to know the data proof of chain B;
in the chain Execution contract: For example, according to chain A's equity certificate, chain B's dividend distribution.
Cross-chain exchange: used to supplement the blockchain protocol that does not directly support cross-chain operations.
Chapter 5 Summary
In order to obtain large-scale commercial applications, blockchain not only needs to realize information interconnection between platforms, but also needs to realize information interconnection between blockchains. In the future, more and more industries will establish their own blockchain platforms, so cross-chain services become particularly important. Industries, commerce, real estate, finance and other industries will also establish their own blockchain platforms, and different industries can establish With the continuous development of digital assets and blockchain technology for its own alliance chain, cross-chain technology is the key to realizing the blockchain value network.