Wormhole 2.0 launches as cross-chain bridge connecting SOL, ETH, BSC, and Terra

In a huge update to the Solana network’s market leading interoperability protocol, Wormhole has launched a 2.0 mainnet multi-chain portal that will facilitate communication between the Solana, Terra, Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain ecosystems.

The first Wormhole protocol operates as a bi-directional cross-chain bridge, originally intended for connecting Ethereum (ETH) with the high-speed proof-of-stake (PoS) Solana network (SOL).

However, Wormhole 2.0 removes the protocol from application logic in order to allow the development of multi-chain messaging without requiring changes to the core protocol for each new use case.

This enables the support for communication between two different smart contracts operating on two different chains, thus enabling, for example, a token swap contract to communicate with a non-fungible token swap contract or relaying live data from price oracles to contracts on multiple chains.

Speaking to Coin Rivet, the CEO of Solana Labs – Anatoly Yakovenko – said the trustless protocol aimed to play a major role in the future of interoperable blockchain technologies.

“Trustless bridges like Wormhole represent the forefront of interoperable blockchain infrastructure,” he said.

“Wormhole can create new corridors for information to flow between blockchains, and unlock billions of liquidity and new value across all asset classes.

“As more DeFi protocols become cross-chain trustless message transmission becomes crucial for maintaining decentralised governance and price parity.” 

The upgrade enables the development of data, token, and branch transfer functionality between multiple blockchains. This presents massive opportunities – especially for cross-chain governance decisions, and comes following significant demand in the DeFi community.

Hendrik Hofstadt, a director at the Jump Trading Group suggested this protocol has the potential to drive exciting innovations within dApps across the market space.

“The thriving DeFi market created demand for a generic messaging protocol that could operate at a much broader scale,” he explained.

“Wormhole 2.0 maintains the simplicity of the original protocol while acting as a more versatile building block for the space.

“It will be exciting to see how dApps and platforms will innovate with this new multi-chain bridge.”

The new protocol launched on the mainnet today following a successful period of auditing by leading cryptographic security firm Neodyme.

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