Vitalik Buterin gives thumbs down to cross-chain applications

In a Reddit post connected Friday, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), outlined captious information concerns surrounding cross-chain bridges successful the blockchain ecosystem. As told by Buterin, storing autochthonal assets directly-chain (Ethereum connected Ethereum, Solana connected Solana, etc.) provides a definite grade of immunity against 51% attacks. Even if hackers negociate to censor oregon reverse transactions, they cannot suggest blocks to instrumentality distant one's crypto.

The regularisation besides applies to the Ethereum application. For example, if hackers motorboat a 51% onslaught (by controlling 51% of each circulating ETH supply) portion an capitalist swaps 100 ETH for 320,000 DAI stablecoin, the extremity authorities remains invariant. I.e., the capitalist would ever get either 100 ETH oregon 320,000 DAI.

However, Buterin continued, that the aforesaid level of information does not use to cross-chain bridges. In the illustration helium raised, if an attacker deposited their ain ETH onto a Solana (SOL) span to get Solana-wrapped Ether (WETH) and past reverted that transaction connected the Ethereum broadside arsenic soon arsenic the Solana broadside confirmed it, it would incur devastating losses connected different users whose tokens are locked successful the SOL-WETH contract, arsenic the wrapped tokens are nary longer backed by the archetypal connected a 1:1 ratio.

Buterin further outlined however the information exploit could standard negatively arsenic much bridges are added into a cross-chain network. In a theoretical web comprising 100 chains, the precocious level of interdepency and overlapping derivatives would mean that a 51% onslaught connected 1 chain, particularly a small-cap one, tin origin a system-wide contagion. According to Crypto 51, it costs arsenic overmuch arsenic $1.78 cardinal an hr for hackers to equine a 51% onslaught vector against the Ethereum network. However, the outgo drops to arsenic small arsenic $13,846 per hr for blockchains specified arsenic Bitcoin Cash.

My statement for wherefore the aboriginal volition beryllium *multi-chain*, but it volition not beryllium *cross-chain*: determination are cardinal limits to the information of bridges that hop crossed aggregate "zones of sovereignty". From https://t.co/3g1GUvuA3A: pic.twitter.com/tEYz8vb59b

Related: Vitalik proposes caller ‘multidimensional’ Ethereum interest structure