The team behind Ethereum re Staking protocol, EigenLayer, and multi-chain messaging protocol, LayerZero, has introduced a new system to enhance the security of multi-chain communications.
In an October 2 blog post, LayerZero Labs announced a partnership with Eigen Labs and introduced a framework for a “Cryptoeconomic Decentralized Verification Network” (DVN).
This system combines technical verification with financial incentives to ensure secure multi-chain messaging.
It addresses several issues associated with multi-Chain security, such as lack of economic incentives to ensure trust, limited participation in the security system, and rigidity in security models.
DVN leverages crypto-economic security, where validators stake assets that can be seized or “slashed” if they act dishonestly or make mistakes.
The system has four main mechanisms to ensure security for multi-Chain communication.
Verifiers will lock or stake assets such as ETH, or other Token such as the native assets of the EIGEN or ZRO protocol, as collateral. Messages are then sent and verified across blockchains . If discrepancies are detected, Token holders can vote to override the staked assets. Finally, if malicious behavior is confirmed, the staked assets are confiscated or slashed.
Benefits of this system include enhanced security for multi-chain messaging, financial incentives for honest behavior, allowing any network to contribute by staking assets, and flexibility with different verification methods, according to the blog post.
The framework is open source, allowing other teams to implement their own DVNs using preferred assets for staking. This allows for application-specific DVNs with custom security parameters.
Eigen Labs explained in a blog post that previously, the security of end-to-end message verification was solely dependent on the network’s verification mechanisms. “But now, with EigenLayer’s Staking native, anyone can stake their assets to provide an additional layer of security,” the firm said.
The LayerZero Connect Protocol is a marketplace for DVN verifiers, with 35 entities currently participating, including zk-proof-based teams like Polyhedra, multi-bridge certification from Hashi, and oracles like Google Cloud, the firm claims.
LayerZero Labs concludes that, when this framework is adopted, the future of blockchain communications will be “defined by trust, transparency, and accountability, bringing us closer to a world where every message across blockchains is protected by cryptoeconomics.”
EigenLayer currently has a total value locked of $10.8 billion; however, according to defillama, this figure has dropped by nearly 50% over the past four months.
