LayerZero and Eigen Labs have partnered to create “CryptoEconomic Decentralized Verifier Networks” (DVNs), enhancing cross-chain communication security.
A new system has been developed by the team responsible for the Ethereum re-staking protocol EigenLayer and the cross-chain messaging protocol LayerZero to enhance the security of cross-chain communication.
On October 2, LayerZero Labs announced a partnership with Eigen Labs and introduced a framework for “CryptoEconomic Decentralized Verifier Networks” (DVNs) in a blog post.
The system integrates financial incentives with technical verification to guarantee secure cross-chain communications.
It resolves several cross-chain security concerns, including the absence of economic incentives to establish trust, restricted security participation, and inflexibility in security models.
DVNs employ cryptoeconomic security, which involves verifiers staking assets that can be confiscated or “slashed” if they commit fraud or errors.
The system employs four primary mechanisms to guarantee the security of cross-chain communication.
As collateral, verifiers seal up or stake assets such as the protocol’s native assets, EIGEN, or ZRO. Messages are subsequently transmitted and verified across blockchains.
Token holders have the option to vote on whether to veto the staked assets if a discrepancy is discovered. The staked assets are ultimately confiscated or destroyed if malicious behavior is verified.
According to the blog post, the system offers improved security for cross-chain messaging, financial incentives for ethical conduct, the ability for any network to contribute by pledging assets, and the flexibility to implement any verification methods.
The framework is released under an open-source license, which enables other teams to establish their DVNs with their preferred assets for the stake. This allows for creating DVNs that are tailored to the specific application and have security parameters that can be adjusted.
Eigen Labs clarified in a blog post that the network’s verification mechanisms were the sole basis for the security of verifying omnichannel communications. “However, Eigenlayer’s re-staking primitive now enables anyone to stake their assets to add layer of security,” it continued.
Protocol for interoperability: LayerZero is a marketplace for DVN verifiers, with 35 entities currently participating. These entities include oracles such as Google Cloud, zk-proof-based teams like Polyhedra, and multi-bridge attestations from Hashi.
LayerZero Labs has determined that the future of blockchain communication will be “defined by trust, transparency, and accountability, bringing us closer to a world where every message across blockchains is secured by crypto-economics” as this framework is implemented.
EigenLayer has a total value of $10.8 billion that is presently locked; however, DeFiLlama reports that this figure has decreased by nearly 50% in the past four months.
