Router Launches Router Chain — a secure, scalable, modular composable framework for cross-blockchain interoperability

The Layer 1 blockchain will be built using Cosmos’ Tendermint Consensus

We have developed a Layer 1 blockchain using Cosmos’ Tendermint Consensus to solve extant problems in Blockchain Interoperability. This will solve for Security and Scalability by unleashing the power of decentralization. Router Chain will provide a modular, composable framework for true-blue cross-chain dApps to be built in web3. This will help onboard the next billion users on to web3. The Devnet is now live: https://devnet-docs.routerprotocol.com/

“Unblocking Chains, Uniting Ecosystems through Unmatched Scalability”

Router unblocks and unites large blockchain networks like Polygon, Ethereum, and non-EVM ecosystems like Cosmos and Substrate-based chains by allowing delegation of cross-chain transactions that are not required to be performed on-chain like voting, fee calculations, etc. to Router Chain which acts as a data-aggregation layer. For example, cross-chain governance can be carried out directly via a governance contract on the Router chain, which can allow users to create and vote on proposals. The inbound and outbound modules will serve as a cross-chain synchronizer to communicate data and voting results between other chains (Ethereum, Polygon, BSC, etc.) and the Router chain.

Router chain’s relay architecture allows for the parallel execution of outbound requests. Since the relayer network is permissionless, each application can run its custom relayer to process its outbound requests. This way, an outbound request from one application bridge contract does not affect the outbound requests from another.

A 3-Tier Security Framework

Security is an essential aspect of any blockchain network. The Router chain derives its security from its underlying tendermint consensus engine with a decentralized network of validators.

Router Chain offers 3 tiers of security at:

1) The Blockchain Level — Derived from the underlying Byzantine Fault Tolerant Tendermint Consensus, for any block to be mined, (2/3 + 1) validators by voting power will be required to achieve consensus, meaning the network can only be compromised if validators holding a combined voting power of more than 67% decide to collude and engage in malicious activities.

2) Bridge Level — Any inbound request from an external chain to the Router chain undergoes a validation process wherein the orchestrators attest to the presence of the inbound event’s corresponding source chain transaction. Similarly, before an outbound request is picked up by a relayer, the orchestrators verify if the event’s corresponding transaction on the Router chain has been mined. For signing the attestations during both the inbound and outbound validation, the orchestrators use the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA)

3) Application Level — dApps can have their own validators sign the contract on Router chain before forwarding the data to the outbound module & the destination chain

Stateful bridging: Leading the rise of true-blue cross-chain dApps

Cross-chain dApps built on Router Chain can by default interact with any blockchain ecosystem without the need for a bridge, thereby tapping into the benefits of each such as: ecosystem growth, liquidity, community adoption, or salient technical features of each blockchain network.

Router’s architecture allows stateful interactions between contracts on one chain and another in a secure and decentralized manner. Apart from validating state changes on the Router Chain, validators also monitor state changes on other chains. dApps built using Router’s Infrastructure can write custom logic to trigger events in response to these external state changes. Additionally, applications built using Router Chain Infra can leverage a trustless network of relayers to update states on external chains. Simply put, the Router architecture allows contracts on one chain to interact with contracts on other chains in a secure and decentralized manner.

Customizability is a key feature of Router Chain. Meta transactions can be integrated, further smoothening user experience and enhancing adoption of dApps. In future iterations of Router Chain, dApps can bolt on additional ZK/rollups-based security models to further enhance user security. Router Chain allows application-specific bridging.

The application-specific bridge contracts are middleware contracts built using CosmWasm and deployed on the Router chain and include the logic required to process the inbound request from a third-party chain and forward the processed request to another third-party blockchain via Router Chain’s outbound module.

A Quad-Core offering for Web3 dApps

Four core frameworks have been made available for Web3 projects to customize their interoperability needs. Router Chain boasts of a first-of-its-kind cross-chain meta transactions, cross-chain statefulness, transaction batching and batch atomicity.

• OmniChain Framework: Best suited for dApps requiring a stateful bridging logic or a decentralized accounting layer
• CrossTalk Framework: Appropriate for cross-chain instruction transfers sans bridging logic
• Voyager Suite: Developers can use abstractions of this native cross-chain asset transfer bridge to build applications like cross-chain yield aggregation
• Router Chain Core: Useful for developing true-blue cross-chain dApps

Also, unlike most chains built using Cosmos SDK, Router chain will have full-fledged support for MetaMask (Consensys). Users will be able to:

a) Add the Router chain to the list of networks on their MetaMask wallet.

b) Import their Router chain assets and balances to their MetaMask wallet.

c) Review transaction details, including tx data, gas price, and gas limit, and sign transactions directly from their MetaMask wallet while connected to the Router chain.

Concluding Remarks

For an infrastructure this robust, the applications could be endless. The use cases can range from cross-chain NFTs, cross-chain governance, and cross-chain stablecoins to cross-chain oracles and cross-chain marketplaces. A devnet starting from Block 0 with all the latest features mentioned above is NOW LIVE. Check out the block explorer at https://devnet-explorer.routerprotocol.com/

Avalanche’s Fuji Testnet, Polygon’s Mumbai Testnet, BSC Testnet and Ethereum Goerli Testnet are supported on Router devnet as of now. Developers can refer to the below resource for chain configuration: https://devnet.lcd.routerprotocol.com/router-protocol/router-chain/multichain/chain_config

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