Union’s permissionless technology promises seamless communication across major blockchain ecosystems.
Since Bitcoin’s 2009 launch and the subsequent innovation boom, the web3 sector has encountered several obstacles. Blockchain programmers face scalability and interoperability difficulties in addition to regulators, user experience, and criminal actors.
Industry development requires blockchain interoperability. The World Economic Forum’s 2020 whitepaper advised against platforms that impede future cooperation.
Imagine using Gmail and not being able to email Yahoo; this would have slowed internet growth. Blockchains should follow suit.
Cosmos’ Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol allows sovereign chains to communicate without compromising independence, making it a leader. Map of Zones shows 91 IBC-connected zones that processed $2.1 billion in transactions in 30 days.
Not only Cosmos chains use IBC. The protocol now supports Ethereum, Polygon, and Avalanche. Most bridging solutions are centralized and need user confidence.
Composable Finance, Consensys, Tokensoft, and Polygon Labs support Union, a permissionless bridge protocol that links blockchains and rollups without third parties. This employs sophisticated zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography.
Union just teamed with Polygon Labs and linked numerous ecosystems. This agreement will connect Polygon and Cosmos using Polygon’s AggLayer for asset transfers and message forwarding between the Polygon ecosystem and IBC-enabled chains.
Karel Kubat, Union’s creator and former Composable Finance CTO, said Union’s bridge protocol goes beyond Cosmos and Polygon. It works with IBC-enabled devices including Scroll, Arbitrum, Berrachain, Movement Labs, and M2. These may use Union to access Ethereum’s huge liquidity.
Karel criticized centralized systems that need each new chain to acquire bridging protocol approval. Union lets networks establish Ethereum channels without authorization, allowing millions of linked chains.
Karel cited dYdX, a big decentralized exchange. From an Ethereum smart contract to a sovereign Cosmos app chain. “We all joined crypto for sovereignty,” he remarked.
Successful smart contracts may go to a Layer 2 or app chain, giving Union a vast market. “It’s any existing app on Ethereum and Solana that could benefit from this move.”
Union’s IBC-Polygon bridge should finish this year. This is a major step toward a permissionless, linked blockchain environment. Follow Union on X to follow their growth and discover how this unique protocol will change blockchain interoperability.
