If someone doesn't know what the most effective path is for DeFi or other ecosystems to be widely adopted, my answer must be the growth of full-chain interoperability brought by cross-chain infrastructure!
Layer1 provides the underlying security for the development of the ecosystem, but the application of cross-chain can make the ecosystem cover more user groups! Because there is no connection between chains, but users often depend on a certain chain or participate in a certain chain ecosystem for a long time. The emergence of cross-chain can make these Layer1 underlying facilities no longer a "isolated island"!
#DeFiChallenge And understanding the rigid demand for cross-chain, we will further extend: What kind of pattern will emerge in the Web3 field without cross-chain?
(1) It will be impossible to achieve data sharing and token circulation between multiple blockchains.(2) Users can only rely on trading platforms to complete cryptocurrency transactions.(3) The scale of DeFi ecosystem will be limited by the infrastructure and cannot be widely applied.(4) This will further lead blockchain or Web3 to enter the perspective of traditional Internet or traditional finance.
In contrast, if cross-chain interoperability is available, the above problems will no longer exist, and further development can be achieved in terms of scalability, user usage, and flexibility.
At present, there are mainly two common cross-chain solutions: one is cross-chain platform, and the other is cross-chain bridge (as shown in the figure below).
#CrossChainInteroperability The narrative logic of cross-chain platforms will be larger and more functional than a single bridge, but the project mechanism will become more cumbersome. Of course, I am just using a project (Polkadot) as an example here. With the development of the industry, cross-chain infrastructure will be continuously optimized and the development threshold will be continuously reduced.
The interoperability of cross-chain may be the ultimate industry pattern that cross-chain facilities will promote, and it is also an inevitable trend. After all, we cannot force users to only use a certain chain, and a multi-chain pattern is more realistic.
The multi-chain pattern is actually a manifestation, and the more essential is that the ecosystem can be deployed on multiple chains, or only on one chain, but users can easily access it. For example, I often suffer from the fact that two chains are not interoperable or I don't know which cross-chain bridge to use.
In addition, with the rapid development of Layer2 in the industry, this phenomenon has been further intensified.
Therefore, the interoperability of cross-chain is not just to establish a cross-chain bridge to achieve a multi-chain pattern. The most essential thing is to use this method to achieve seamless and instant resolution of on-chain interaction needs for users.
Starting from the most basic full-chain coverage transfer, of course, having a cross-chain bridge is not enough. We also need some cross-chain platforms to complete the transmission of more information, so that the ecosystem can truly realize the access of multi-chain users.
Once it reaches a sufficient level, blockchain or Web3 can basically support broader uses on the backend/protocol side and become the next generation of the Internet, truly becoming Web3!