The Panama Project: Making One-Click Cross-Chain Connection Possible

2020-10-02

Different blockchains are being used around the world, and each blockchain has its own consensus mechanism and transaction methods. This makes it hard to share data between different blockchains. From this perspective, each blockchain is a silo, and many crypto projects have sought to create ways to enable the transfer of digital assets from one blockchain to another. 

At Binance, we are dedicated to spreading the freedom of money. We make it easy for people to use and send their crypto and other digital assets. With this in mind, we have recently launched the Panama Project, through which we aim to break blockchain silos and enable cross-chain transactions with one click.

Through the Panama Project, which is part of our bigger Token Canal Project, we will leverage the bridging services of BNB Smart Chain for cross-chain asset circulation and to truly realize a connected blockchain world.

Token Canal Project

Binance launched the Token Canal Project in early September, with the goal of introducing more crypto assets into different blockchain ecosystems, while guaranteeing conversions to and from the original tokens with our track record and infrastructure. This project, which we are building to be an important part of the decentralized ecosystem, is offering our version of “wrapped coins” in the crypto community. 

We’ve launched several tokens that support BEP2 and BEP20 networks on other blockchains, including BTC (BTCB), ETH, XRP, LTC, BCH, DOT and many more. These “wrapped coins” are backed by real tokens locked in public addresses, and Binance accounts will support the deposits and withdrawals for these tokens, whether through the token standards of their native blockchain, BEP2, or BEP20, with more to come.

Panama Project

The Panama Project is launched for the benefit of the BNB Smart Chain community. By mapping different tokens on BSC, we facilitate the cross-chain circulation of different network assets. Panama refers to the bridging services that we will offer. Through these services, users can directly bridge their cross-chain assets from centralized or decentralized wallets to BSC. 

Panama provides liquidity for BSC Dapps and brings value assets such as BTC, BCH and ETH to the BSC community. It also has the following integrated advantages:

●  Panama provides bridging services and liquidity for Dapps on BNB Chain and BSC.

●  Crypto assets can be transferred from its native chain to BNB Chain and BSC. For example, USDT can be transferred from Ethereum to BSC. The project currently supports ERC 20 and TRC 20 cross-chain transfers.

●  Faster transfer time. The cross-chain transfer takes only 2-3 minutes.

●  No transaction fee. The user is only required to pay the network fees.

●  Users can enjoy Panama services without a Binance account.

How to Enable One-click Cross-chain Transfers via the Panama Project

Before using the Panama Project’s services, you need to have a decentralized wallet. Panama currently supports the BNB Chain wallet, and it will support Trust Wallet and MetaMask soon.

Through Panama, you can execute Peg-In and Peg-Out functions. Peg-in refers to the transfer of assets from Ethereum and other blockchains to the BNB Smart Chain, while Peg-out refers to the inverse of that.

Take Peg-In for example. If you want to peg-in USDT from Ethereum to BSC, just follow the steps below and you’ll complete the cross-chain transfer with one click: 

●  Request a Peg-In from Ethereum to BSC.

●  Panama services will create and allocate an Ethereum address for deposit.

●  Deposit your USDT from your ETH address to the ETH address provided by Panama within a given period of time.

●  After completing the transfer, Panama will inform you of the progress and send an equivalent amount of mapping tokens to the receiver’s account.

Note: If you do not send any amount to the deposit address within one hour, the Peg-In function will expire.

Once a transaction on Panama is done, you will be able to see the change in the balance of the mapped token. After the transfer is completed, Panama will lock all tokens and peg them in from Ethereum to BSC. Note that transactions are subject to different fees on their respective blockchain networks.

If you want to peg-in large amounts, we suggest you try it with a small amount, to ensure that the address is correct (or directly do it on Binance.com, which is more convenient for large amounts). In general, the peg-in time depends on the confirmation time needed by blockchain network nodes. Sometimes it may take a few minutes. Please be patient.

Currently, Panama supports the Peg-in and Peg-out of BTC, ETH, USDT and BUSD, and will support more tokens soon.

As a centralized platform, Binance holds a positive view on public chains and is willing to invest more in it. In the past half-year, Binance assumed all the costs of developing BSC. In the future, BSC will include more Dapps under the co-governance and witness of the community, and push forward its self-iteration, allowing more validators to run nodes. 

Panama is an important application tool on BSC, and we will launch more useful and convenient tools based on the decentralized blockchain network. We believe there are many paths towards the development of decentralized public chains, in the same way that the adage goes “all road leads to Rome.”