Axelar Brings Cross-Chain Swaps to Fantom
The blockchain universe contains dozens of players, each with its own active ecosystem. For cryptocurrencies to live up to their potential of being borderless and universal, a system to connect these chains is important.
Axelar is a network that unlocks this potential by connecting 30 chains, including Fantom, to offer cross-chain communication. It brings secure, decentralized interoperability to every connected chain.
Let’s explore how Axelar works and how they integrate with SpookySwap to offer new features on Fantom!
What is Axelar?
According to its team, the “Axelar network is a blockchain that connects blockchains, enabling universal Web3 interoperability. The network is secured using proof-of-stake consensus, and messages are routed and translated using permissionless protocols. As an analogy, Axelar is like Stripe for Web3.”
With Axelar, developers can connect and communicate with other chains, dApps can have cross-chain capabilities, and users can interact seamlessly with applications across multiple chains.
How does Axelar work?
The three main components that power Axelar:
The decentralized network itself, which is the proof-of-stake blockchain that connects the 30 chains on Axelar. It’s run and maintained by validators.
Gateways are the smart contracts deployed on every chain to enable cross-chain communication. Axelar validators monitor gateways for incoming transactions on one chain and execute the transactions on the destination chain.
Axelar offers simple SDKs and APIs that allow developers to build cross-chain features into their dApps, such as transferring assets between any pair of addresses on two separate chains—all without having to learn new programming languages.
Axelar's integration with Fantom provides a seamless user experience through the use of General Message Passing (GMP), which lets developers call contracts on any chain connected to Axelar.
dApps and their users can send and receive any payload across chains, including data and function calls. For example, developers can build DeFi apps that use NFTs minted on another chain as collateral, without having to wrap and move the NFT across chains.
Traditionally, bridges are used to connect chains; a user deposits a token on one chain and mints a wrapped token on another chain, which they can swap for another token. GMP gets rid of this old bridge-and-swap method by offering one-click, cross-chain swaps, which users on Fantom will experience soon. With one click, you can swap ETH on Ethereum for FTM on Fantom.
One-click cross-chain swaps on Fantom
In the animal kingdom, the squid is the most ghost-like creature, which makes it fitting that Axelar and Squid are bringing one-click cross-chain swaps to one of Fantom’s leading decentralized exchanges, SpookySwap.
Squid is a protocol built on Axelar that provides liquidity routing between chains. It utilizes existing DEXs on each chain to swap and send native tokens. Take a sneak peek at its upcoming integration with SpookySwap:
There’s no redirection to a third-party site to bridge and no reliance on bad UX or shaky infrastructure. Axelar and Squid abstract the process for the user, delivering a cross-chain swap in one click.
In the above sneak peek, the transaction uses both FTM and ETH for gas as the transaction takes place on both Fantom and Ethereum. Axelar handles all cross-chain gas conversion from the source-chain token to the destination-chain token, which means users don’t need to maintain wallets on other chains, hold tokens to pay for gas, or make multiple hops to ensure the transaction completes.
All transactions can be tracked via Axelarscan, Axelar’s cross-chain block explorer.
What’s next?
Axelar meets the most pressing need for secure cross-chain infrastructure, and cross-chain swaps that can be performed with just one click are a fascinating use case. However, they’re just the beginning.
A new generation of dApps is being built with native cross-chain capabilities. These super dApps are designed to work across multiple chains and can integrate any function and asset in Web3.
Are you a developer with an idea for a cross-chain dApp? Check out the Axelar Docs and the Axelar Grant Program for ways to get started building. Join the Axelar Discord #developers channel to discuss your plans and get help from other developers!
If you’re a user and excited about what SpookySwap is about to deliver, follow SpookySwap's Twitter to make sure you’re the first to know when their integration with Axelar is ready!
