Blockchain interoperability is fundamental to the Web3 economy, enabling the smooth transfer of value and assets across diverse networks. As the tokenization of real-world and digital assets gains momentum, the need for accessible and secure infrastructure has never been more pressing.
Today, we’re thrilled to unveil a significant upgrade for Nexera Bridge: integrating the Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). This advancement marks a pivotal step towards ensuring secure and efficient cross-chain transactions.
The Nexera Bridge is a gateway for users to seamlessly bridge supported ERC-20 and ERC-721 tokens across multiple networks, enhancing accessibility and composability. Under the hood, the Nexera Messaging and Teleport Protocols enable this by working in tandem to transmit messages, data and metadata, and token-bridging transactions across supported networks. Through the Nexera Bridge SDK, developers can craft decentralized applications (dApps) capable of transacting cross-chain, promoting interoperability across networks.
These components are vital to the Nexera infrastructure, facilitating cross-chain messaging and interoperability across our platforms and solutions. The integration of Chainlink CCIP lets users and developers leverage the protocol as a messaging or bridging provider to bridge tokens and send arbitrary messages and data across different networks.
This article delves into the intricacies of CCIP and integration with Nexera Bridge. We’ll explore the enhanced security measures, expanded network support, and architectural upgrades.
Opportunities for Cross-Chain Tokenization
The tokenization of real-world and digital assets has become an important use case for blockchain technology. In a report, Boston Consulting Group estimates that the global value of tokenized illiquid assets will account for 10% of global GDP by 2030, reaching US$16 trillion.
To take advantage of this opportunity, more and more builders are creating tokenization solutions across different networks, including new networks specifically designed for tokenization. Tokenization unlocks and enables access to illiquid assets, and transacting cross-chain enables more opportunities and use cases for these assets.
Bridging infrastructure already exists to address access to liquidity and transacting across networks. However, security is still a major concern. In 2022, a Chainalysis report estimated that US$2 billion in crypto assets had been stolen due to cross-chain bridge attacks.
To fulfill the promise of tokenized RWAs providing access to illiquid assets, security in bridging solutions should be at the forefront of users’ and infrastructure and solutions providers’ minds.
Integrating Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP)
CCIP is a Chainlink solution that provides a simple interface to transfer data, tokens or both across supported networks. It is built on the same foundational technology as other Chainlink protocols. It is the only cross-chain interoperability protocol that offers level-5 security and includes additional safety mechanisms unique to its offering, including customizable rate limits on token transfers and a separate Risk Management Network that monitors the validity of all cross-chain transactions.
The Risk Management Network is a secondary level of validation to the primary CCIP Decentralized Oracle Network. It comprises a network of independent nodes that observe and validate the messages sent between networks. This added security benefit ensures that messages and tokens sent between networks are verified and that transactions are final and cannot be reverted.
CCIP already works as a blockchain abstraction layer that enterprises use to connect with and interoperate across multiple blockchain environments directly from their existing backend systems. For example, Swift and banking institutions Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), BNP Paribas, Citi, and Lloyds Banking Group have begun exploring CCIP for instructing token transfers across public and private chains through existing Swift messaging infrastructure.
CCIP supports networks the Bridge already supports, such as Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, Optimism and Arbitrum. Additionally, it supports Base, Wemix and Kroma.
For users, Nexera’s integration of CCIP to Bridge as an additional messaging provider lets them take advantage of CCIP’s multiple layers of security while still enjoying the benefits of seamless bridging through our platform. Furthermore, it allows the Bridge to support CCIP-supported networks in the future.
For developers building with the Nexera Bridge SDK, this integration offers more flexibility and choice in sending arbitrary messages and data across supported networks. Through the SDK, they can leverage the level-5 security system trusted by banks and financial institutions for their messaging and bridging provision needs.
Rachid Ajaja, CEO and Founder of Nexera commented, “The integration of Chainlink’s Cross-chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) into our Nexera Bridge significantly boosts the security protocols while streamlining cross-chain transactions for users. It also enables developers to build omni-chain applications more easily using our comprehensive SDK. This advancement is key to making Web3 more accessible by enabling seamless interoperability and enhancing composability across different solutions and platforms. With Nexera’s approach to tokenization, assets can be tokenized on one chain and then effectively leveraged on another chain to exploit distinct features. This capability ensures that bridging data and metadata across chains enhances the functionality and applicability of tokenized assets, maximizing their value in the blockchain ecosystem.”
Next Steps
As of May 1st, Omniscia has already completed the audit of the codebase for the Nexera Messaging Protocol, Teleport Protocol, and the ERC-20 and ERC-721 Router smart contracts, alleviating all the issues found.
The team will begin deploying the contracts on Mainnet and the Bridge updates today at 6:00PM CEST (4:00 PM UTC). The Bridge will be in maintenance mode for 48 hours until 6:00 PM CEST (4:00 UTC) on Thursday, 16 May 2024. This provides ample time for the actual upgrade and additional testing.
In a follow-up article, we will share more technical information about the upgrades of the Nexera Bridge, including the Messaging Protocol and the ERC Router contracts.
We are incredibly excited to complete this major integration of Chainlink CCIP for the Nexera Bridge. CCIP integration provides a more secure and reliable way of bridging tokens. The support for multiple messaging providers makes adding additional providers in the future easy, providing flexibility and choice for both users and developers.
This milestone truly paves the way for major developments for the Bridge and interoperability across the Nexera infrastructure and technology stack. This further positions Nexera infrastructure and technology as the provider of choice for bringing real-world and digital asset tokenization to life. We can’t wait to share more in the future!
About Nexera
Nexera is empowering the future of finance with cutting-edge open-source innovation. Nexera infrastructure seamlessly incorporates blockchain technology, facilitating on-chain and off-chain operations for simplified digital, financial, and real-world asset management.
Nexera Foundation is focused on nurturing the broader ecosystem and DAO and enhancing the utility of the NXRA token. It is committed to promoting community growth and driving innovation in the digital asset space, including the growth and development of current and future key ecosystem partners.
Learn more about Nexera by following them on X, joining the Telegram Community, or visiting their website.
