Chainlink

1. Problems/Challenges it aims to solve


2. Solutions


Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP): An open-source protocol to facilitate secure and efficient cross-chain interactions, including token transfers and arbitrary messaging, leveraging features such as a Risk Management Network, decentralized oracle computation, and off-chain reporting protocol.

Services provided:

  • Asset and information transfer across multiple blockchains and facilitating secure token transfers directly to EOAs or smart contracts on different blockchains.

  • Enabling application developers to utilize various blockchain networks' strengths and benefits, fostering collaboration and cross-chain application development.

  • Blockchain abstraction layers that allow interaction with any blockchain network through a single middleware.

  • Security features like monitoring for malicious activities and leveraging a decentralized oracle computation network with verified on-chain performance histories.

  • Security features such as Risk Management Network, decentralized oracle computation, and the off-chain reporting (OCR) protocol.

  • Guidance through concepts, architecture, and best practices for deploying contracts using Chainlink CCIP.

3. Target Customers


  • Traditional backends/Institutional players: That wish to interact with various blockchain networks without building separate in-house solutions for each interaction.

  • dApp developers: To leverage cross-chain functionalities and create dApps with enhanced features and services.

  • Web3 entrepreneurs: Looking to securely meet all their cross-chain needs, including token transfers and messaging.

  • Users of DeFi platforms: Who aim to maximize yields, leverage assets for loans, and engage in cross-chain lending activities

4. Key Points


The Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) primarily operates at the following layers:

  • Oracle Layer - CCIP enables Chainlink oracles to provide external data to blockchains in a standardized way.

  • Semantic Layer - CCIP provides a common schema, API, and ontology for interpreting oracle data.

  • Syntactic Layer - CCIP specifies a JSON schema for encoding, serializing, and validating oracle data.

  • Data Transfer Layer - CCIP outlines how oracle requests/responses are communicated between chains.

  • Smart Contract Layer - CCIP defines how to call oracle contracts in a cross-chain compatible way.

So in summary, CCIP focuses on:

  • Standardizing oracle services across chains at the Oracle Layer

  • Providing common oracle semantics at the Semantic Layer

  • Defining structured oracle data formats at the Syntactic Layer

  • Transmitting oracle data between chains at the Data Transfer Layer

  • Enabling portable oracle integration at the Smart Contract Layer

High-level a step-by-step summary of how Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) works:

  1. A decentralized app (DApp) on the sending blockchain makes a request to the CCIP router contract to interact with another blockchain.

  2. The router contract validates the request and forwards it to the receiving chain's on-ramp contract.

  3. If tokens are being transferred, the router locks them in the sending chain's token pool.

  4. The on-ramp contract emits an event that the committing Oracle network listens for.

  5. The committing Oracle generates a Merkle root and sends it to the commit store on the receiving chain.

  6. In parallel, the risk management nodes validate the Merkle root and validate it.

  7. The executing Oracle listens for the validation event and sends a Merkle proof to the off-ramp contract.

  8. The off-ramp contract validates the proof against the commit store and risk contract.

  9. If valid, the off-ramp contract executes the request - minting tokens or unlocking from the pool.

  10. The router routes the response back to the destination DApp contract or address.

  11. The user pays CCIP fees in native or ERC20 tokens for using the protocol.

CCIP uses router contracts, token pools, Oracles, and Merkle proofs to enable interoperability across blockchains in a decentralized and trustless manner.

5. People


Sergey Nazarov - Co-founder

Thomas Trepanier - Head of Capital Markets

Ryan Lovell - Director Capital Markets

Pieter Pauwels - CCIP Market Strategy Manager

6. Industry Initiatives Participation


7. Resources


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ-vRNciSq4

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