ICF’s 2024 Report Highlights $41 Billion in Cross-Chain Transactions
The ICF’s 2024 Cross-Chain Interoperability Report reveals key insights into the evolving cross-chain ecosystems:
- Total transaction volume across top interoperability protocols exceeded $41 billion as of October 2024.
- Ethereum leads in both outflows (47.9%) and inflows (38.9%), with the most active route being from Ethereum to Arbitrum, totaling $10.7 billion.
- Total value locked (TVL) across 43 interoperability protocols reached $8 billion.
- The Interchain's Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol connects 117 blockchains; newer protocols like Hyperlane (120 chains) and LayerZero (114 chains) are gaining traction.
- Circle’s CCTP is prominent for high-volume transactions, paralleling IBC with over 1.5 million monthly active addresses.
- Intent-centric bridging protocols, such as Stargate and Across, facilitate quick asset transfers by allowing users to define desired outcomes without technical complexities.
- Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) are gaining attention for improving scalability and security in blockchain interoperability.
- Fragmentation remains a challenge due to diverse blockchain ecosystems, complicating seamless integration and scalability.
- No universal bridge currently exists to connect all major chains, particularly between Ethereum rollups and other networks.
Addressing fragmentation is essential for realizing a fully interconnected blockchain ecosystem and unlocking the potential of decentralized applications (dapps).