What is it and how does it work?

Axelar Network is a decentralized state machine that enables cross-chain transactions. You can think of it like the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

To put it more simply, the project focuses on interoperability, one of the most important areas of blockchains, and allows transactions to be made between the different blockchains it supports.

The Axelar network supports several different protocols, and at its heart is the Interchain Gateway Protocol (CGP), which allows you to transfer information between chains without being constrained by consensus-based rules.

Axelar Network consists of the following components:

  • Consensus

  • Cryptography

  • Gateway Contracts

  • Validators

  • Cross-Chain Background Programs (Relays)

How Does It Work?

Axelar Gateways are the set of rules required to approve and process cross-chain transaction requests. As I said at the beginning of the article, this protocol forms the basis of the network and provides us with a decentralized “State Transition Machine”. The state changes that will occur with the incoming requests are decided by the consensus mechanism. In short, the changes that the Axelar State Machine will make are decided by the consensus of the Axelar Network. Thanks to this decision mechanism (consensus), an agreement is reached on both the state information of the Axelar Network and the state information of the other chains on which the transaction will be made, and cross-chain transactions are performed.

In the Axelar Network, transactions are verified by validators. Transactions that comply with consensus rules are verified by validators with a single common signature, keeping the transaction size small and resulting in lower transaction fees. Validators can run full nodes or light clients of other supported blockchains for cross-chain transactions. Ultimately, validators are responsible for directing Axelar nodes to other blockchains via RPCs. Validators do their job by opening the door to the network for access to a blockchain node.

Since the Axelar network only tracks cross-chain transactions, the initial size of other blockchains is irrelevant and the data size (state) of the Axelar network only grows with transfers. Cross-chain transactions that are done in bulk are also done in bulk. Axelar Network Contracts are universal and can work with any blockchain network after being ported to the language of the relevant blockchain (for example, Ethereum and all blockchains that use EVM can run the same network contract).

How is a transaction processed across different blockchain networks?

When a transaction on blockchain A reaches the gateway contract, it is forwarded to the Axelar Network. Relays are responsible for monitoring these gateway contracts and forwarding a request to the Axelar Network after seeing it. Validators then query the request via RPCs belonging to their nodes and vote on it. If the transaction is valid, the request is processed as an internal state change to the Axelar Network. This transaction, which is processed on the network, is triggered to be executed on blockchain B by the gateway contract created on blockchain B, thus representing the transaction on A on B and completing the transaction.

What is the status / Development Stages?

The project, which is currently actively in the testnet process, plans to launch its mainnet in February 2022. Currently, all blockchain projects (Ethereum, Avalanche, BSC, etc.) and the entire Cosmos ecosystem (IBC chains) are supported using EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine). Later, if the gateway contracts I mentioned in the article are ported to other languages, this number can increase rapidly and almost all (including Bitcoin-like networks using UXTO) can be supported. In other words, their goals and statements are in this direction and there is no technical obstacle to the issue.

However, I could not see any API/SDK documentation other than the testnet information and the whitepaper. In short, the documents that developers need to prepare have not been published yet. I do not know if they are ready or not, but I would expect a project that will be transferred to the mainnet in February to have already published these documents, because the survival of such projects depends entirely on the quality and number of developers who will be included in the ecosystem.

Supporters / Who is behind it?

The project, which is supported by many well-known capitals, especially Conbase and Binance Ventures, inspires confidence in this respect.

Set

The project team consists of 20 people and the core team consists of well-known names from the Algorand project. Almost the entire team consists of people who have proven themselves and are competent in terms of technical knowledge. This is also a trustworthy element.

Final words

In my review, I could say that I liked the project in general, except for the fact that the development documents have not been published yet, I did not come across anything that would bother me. We cannot say that it is a revolutionary technology, disruptive, etc., but it is a candidate to be one of the projects that can find a useful place in the ecosystem. The project, by its nature, does not aim to replace something, but to make existing chains work together, not destructive, but conciliatory. :)

I wish you well-being.

Resources and Further Reading:

  1. https://axelar.network/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/axelar_whitepaper.pdf

  2. https://axelar.network/a-technical-introduction-to-the-axelar-network

Website:https://axelar.network/
Telegram: http//t.me/axelarnetwork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/exelarcore