Axelar Network — Overview
Intro
Axelar is one of the most popular networks on the market right now due to the relative ease of development it provides toward its main objective: connectivity across multiple chains. In short, Axelar is built to help blockchains become connected and it gives developers the right tools to get it done, becoming a universal overlay network.
It’s a decentralized full-stack network that is making use of nodes and a validator set that is also taking care of external EVM-compatible chains.
An important aspect to keep in mind is that the top Axelar layer is the environment designed for developers to build dApps and move cross-chain, using APIs and SDKs without the need for new programming languages. That means that it enables any-to-any communication across blockchains. The dApps are permissionless and the consensus mechanism is irrelevant.
The two main basics of how it functions are described in token transfers and general message passing that calls on any type of EVM function from inside a dApp.
Not just another bridge
A blockchain connected to the network goes through a compounding effect and becomes able to communicate with all the other existing chains. The high level of interoperability grants applications an incredibly wide range of solutions across Cosmos or non-Cosmos chains, whether IBC is even available or not.
Being able to plug in another blockchain, connect it to an entire ecosystem and access global liquidity is one of the top-tier reasons for which Axelar is an important player.
One-time deposit addresses can be created through API that allows receiving of funds cross-chain, thus allowing projects or users to experience something similar to the onramps of centralized exchanges.
Gateway smart contracts and protocols
Axelar uses what’s called general message passing (GMP) to facilitate communication between contracts across different blockchains, allowing cross-chain applications to be built and further access functionalities of all ranges.
These gateways are secured through the network’s validator set.
At the heart of everything lies the Cross-Chain Gateway Protocol (CGP) which allows the adoption of new blockchains without limitations on consensus or a requirement of common custom language/changes. This is also considered to be the routing protocol.
The Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CTP) sits on top of routing protocols such as the aforementioned CGP, allowing dApps to be connected across any chain through API calls, including transferring, locking, and unlocking assets between two addresses across platforms.
It’s worth noting that Axelar’s security is well-tested, constantly audited, and being improved with every step along the way.
Security
While having at its core the classic PoS staking model in terms of security, for block creation and rewards, Axelar also added quadratic voting during the beginning of September 2022, where a validator’s voting power does not increase exponentially unless the validator’s delegations go up by a huge margin.
There are also a few Security Mechanisms in place:
Security Mechanism I
The network’s safety threshold is at 90% which means that almost all validators need to approve a transaction before it is processed, making collusion to bad events highly unlikely.
Security Mechanism II
The Robust Fallback Mechanisms elaborate on an “emergency unlock key in case of network stalling. The emergency key acts as a fallback to enable asset recovery.
Security Mechanism III
The decentralization architecture allows the number of validators to be as high as necessary without relying on transaction limits or fees or influencing the last two mentioned, through the utilization of threshold signature schemes.
Security Mechanism IV
Maximum Decentralization of Fall-Back Mechanisms allows any community user to participate in the fallback mechanism, cost-free and without the need to run nodes or be connected to the network. These are emergency “on-call” users only.
A little bit more depth on security mechanisms and more can be found here and here by checking out the Axelar Academy and blogs.
Tokenomics & the $AXL
One important aspect of $AXL is the fact that it is not necessary for cross-chain transactions, the transactions can be paid in the target chain’s token. However, the network services are paid through $AXL and the fee payments are handled in the background, enabling permissionless access.
Deflationary potential
While the rewards are inflationary, the token has deflationary potential due to the transaction fee mechanism.
Supply
- 1 billion AXL tokens minting genesis mint plan.
- Supply will be released schedules ranging from 6 months, for community sale participants, to 4 years, for team members.
AXL genesis tokens distribution:
Company: 29.5%.
– Core team: 17%.
– Company operations: 12.5%.
Backers: 29.54%
– Seed: 13.4%.
– Series A: 12.64%.
– Series B: 3.5%.
Community sale: 5%.
Community programs (incl. insurance fund): 35.96%.
For more in-depth details on tokenomics such as release schedule, locking periods, and other details, check out the AXL token economics.
Recent considerations
Axelar currently supports a number 29 connected chains and it continues to grow every year. For a list of said networks, check out the Axelar Explorer.
The latest updates on the network’s progress have been posted here on December 9th of 2022.
BlockHunters & Axelar
BlockHunters is currently active on both Axelar testnets and with a few previous weeks of activity in the active set on mainnet. We have been maintaining an infrastructure of multiple EVM nodes and relayers for the past few months and will continue to do so, increasing our contribution on-chain.
If you liked this video or just want to support us in general, you can contribute by delegating to our validator on the mainnet, any delegation is one step further in us joining the active set once again in the future.
Axelar Network links
⚪️ Website
⚪️ Whitepaper
⚪️ Explorer
⚪️ Medium
⚪️ Github
⚪️ Academy
⚪️ Blog
⚪️ Twitter
⚪️ Discord
About BlockHunters
BlockHunters is a non-custodial staking service provider currently supporting the most promising projects in the cryptocurrency ecosystem with active nodes and different model infrastructure key components.
Based on the vision of driving technology forward and helping with security, connectivity solutions, governance insights, and community support, BlockHunters is dedicated to offering competitive and practical prowess.
Where to find us
🔗Website https://blockhunters.org
🔗Linktree https://linktr.ee/blockhunters
🔗Explorer https://scan.bh.rocks/
🔗Twitter https://twitter.com/BlockhuntersOrg
📃Telegram chat https://t.me/BlockhuntersTG
📃Telegram announcements https://t.me/BlockhuntersAnnouncements
📧Email office[at]blockhunters[dot]org
