Blockchain technology has made remarkable strides in transforming industries, from finance to digital art, and its promise for the decentralized internet – Web3 – is boundless. However, one critical challenge continues to impede this vision: blockchain interoperability. For Web3 to achieve mainstream adoption, chains need to communicate seamlessly, enabling users and developers to operate across networks without friction.
For all its innovation – tokenized assets, autonomous agents, collateralized stablecoins, and sustainable yield – Web3 has made a rod for its own back. With every new chain or protocol that’s deployed, secondary solutions must be engineered to enable assets and messages to flow freely between ecosystems.
As Web3 creates complexity to solve equally complex challenges, its engineers are faced with the unenviable task of solving the fragmentation caused by the rapid expansion of the omnichain landscape. It’s a sisyphean task – but there are signs, at least, that blockchain engineers are finally getting their house in order, freeing developers to focus on their core goal: solving real-world problems.
Understanding Blockchain Interoperability
Blockchain interoperability refers to the ability of different blockchain networks to communicate, share data, and transact with one another. In today’s multichain world, most networks operate in silos, making it challenging to move assets, execute smart contracts, or access services across chains. Imagine a scenario where you can’t send an email from a Gmail account to an Outlook account: this lack of compatibility would stifle the utility of the internet. The same principle applies to blockchains, where different programming languages and incongruent VMs threaten to cause a Tower of Babel-esque impasse.
Interoperability matters because it allows developers to build applications that leverage the unique strengths of various blockchains without requiring users to switch platforms. It reduces inefficiencies, enhances scalability, and creates a more user-friendly experience, paving the way for broader adoption of web3 technologies. It’s great to have 100 chains to trade on, each optimized for a different use case, but there needs to be an easy way for value and information to flow freely between each one.
Why Interoperability Is a Big Deal for Web3
The fragmented nature of blockchains has proven to be their achilles heel, particularly in spaces like decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and gaming. When interoperability is poor, DeFi assets are trapped on different chains, making it difficult for decentralized exchanges and lending protocols to pool resources and optimize returns for users.
It’s a similar story when it comes to NFTs. Artists and collectors on one chain, such as Ethereum, find it cumbersome to engage with communities and marketplaces on other chains like Solana or TON. Cross-chain gaming and metaverse projects also face hurdles. Players can’t seamlessly transfer assets or identities across blockchain-based games, limiting user engagement and the scalability of gaming economies. In short, the lack of interoperability creates inefficiencies, raises costs, and diminishes the potential of blockchain to operate as the backbone of web3.
So what’s the solution?
Bridging the Gaps in Web3 Architecture
If we think of blockchain ecosystems as islands, each within sight of one another but tantalisingly out of reach, it becomes evident that interoperability requires a multi-pronged approach. To extend the analogy, you can build bridges between islands; construct causeways; or commission more ferries. Similarly, blockchain interoperability calls for bespoke solutions that are particular to the type of asset or data in question.
Certain qualities remain consistent, however, specifically the need for interoperability solutions to be highly decentralized, highly secure, and capable of delivering data in real-time. But there’s also a final requirement that’s often overlooked: the need for them to be easy for developers to access. Think “plug-and-play” rather than “spin up with 1,000 lines of homegrown code.”
It Begins With RPCs
The starting point for this is RPCs, the means by which web3 builders can access timely data from across the multichain landscape. While there is no shortage of projects now working on web3 infrastructure, the best players are capable of supplying data for the long tail of blockchains and – crucially – without overcharging dapps for the privilege.
Web3 data networks such as dRPC are at the vanguard of this movement by making it easier for developers to connect to multiple blockchains without managing separate integrations. This reduces development overhead and accelerates time to market. As the company’s CEO Constantine Zaitcev observes, RPC endpoints ensure that “developers can easily access data from multiple blockchains without the hassle of managing different nodes. Plus, the ability to automate and tweak resource allocation through a user-friendly UI makes it easier to optimize performance, especially during high traffic. It’s a no-brainer for developers looking to scale efficiently and keep their focus on building great dapps.”
That, in a nutshell, is what RPCs bring to the table. Of course, this doesn’t solve for other interoperability challenges, such as siloed liquidity. The solution to that lies in dedicated liquidity layers that enable emerging L2s and DEXs to provide far deeper liquidity than they would otherwise have been able to supply through their own making. Projects such as Orderly Network and Orbs have been instrumental in driving this trend, diverting liquidity to where it’s needed on demand.
True Interoperability Is the Holy Grail
The ripple effects of solving interoperability will be felt across the entire web3 landscape. In DeFi, unified liquidity pools will enable decentralized exchanges to offer better trading conditions, lower slippage, and reduced transaction fees. Cross-chain lending and borrowing will become more efficient, attracting a broader range of users and institutional capital.
For NFTs, artists and collectors will be able to mint, trade, and showcase their works across platforms, unlocking greater creative and economic opportunities. Interoperable NFT marketplaces can support a diverse range of tokens, regardless of the originating chain, and jpegs will no longer be trapped on their original chain, where high fees – particularly in the case of Ethereum – can limit their usability.
In gaming and the metaverse, meanwhile, players will enjoy seamless experiences, carrying their assets, avatars, and achievements across world. This interoperability will be a game-changer for metaverse economies, fostering deeper engagement and stronger communities.
Web3 infrastructure has improved significantly over the last two years as investment and innovation have flourished in tandem, but interoperability remains the key to unlocking its full potential. As more projects adopt omnichain RPC and liquidity solutions, we move closer to a future where blockchains operate as a cohesive network, delivering on the promise of open access and opportunity for all. The technology to achieve this is now in place. The next step is for developers – regardless of which chain they operate on – to integrate it to create powerful dapps that are unconstrained by Web3 architecture.
