What Is a Wormhole?
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Wormhole is a non-centralized, message-passing project that links different blockchain. In other words, Wormhole enables various chains such as Terra, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche Polygon, and so on to interact with each other. Wormhole effectively solves key issues that affect blockchains today:
DApps (Decentralized Applications) and smart contracts on different platforms can’t interact with each other. Consequently, this constitutes a big challenge, as interoperability between different blockchains is quite challenging.
Wormhole addresses this by keeping an eye out for messages sent by smart contracts on several chains. This is accomplished by the Wormhole Core Layer, a core contract installed on each chain that performs the fundamental task of the aforementioned universal message-passing protocol, which is to route the messages received to the target chain. The wormhole is guarded by a network of 19 nodes called a guardian.
Without Wormhole’s infrastructure, it would not be possible to use cross-chain communication projects like token and NFT bridges, inter-chain oracles, and other messaging applications.
Wormhole’s Mode of Operation
One of the most notable features of Wormhole is its Token Bridge feature. It facilitates the sending of cryptocurrency between Leyer-1 chains, such as:
Terra
Ethereum
Polygon
Avalanche
Oasis
Solana
Binance Smart Chain (BSC)
The Uniqueness Points of Wormhole
Below are some of the nice features that make Wormhole stand out among other projects:
Wide Range of Popular Blockchains Supported
One of them is the variety of blockchains it supports, which offers users access to a wide range of DeFi protocols without forcing them to use centralized solutions. For instance, you can use DeFi protocols on other chains after transferring ERC-20 tokens from Ethereum. This is a nice answer to a problem that will probably linger for a while, especially for Ethereum users who are afflicted by excessive gas fees. In a similar manner, owners of tokens from other chains can gain access to the expansive Ethereum DeFi ecosystem.
Links Non-Fungible Tokens Across Blockchains
Decentralized Applications Designed Natively Across Blockchain
Aside from the token bridge feature, Wormhole also facilitates DApps that were designed on it. Because of Wormhole, programmers can approach applications from a project-first design point of view.
These can utilize the advantages of each blockchain or be chain-neutral. For instance, an application might choose Solana for transaction confirmation due to its low transaction fees but Ethereum for final settlement due to Ethereum’s security.
Wormhole in the Media
Wormhole, despite having a compelling value proposition and a use case that are evident, unfortunately, received the most media attention for a $320 million breach that was directed at its bridge between Solana and Ethereum. As a result, in the greatest hack of 2022 and one of the biggest DeFi thefts ever, 120,000 Wrapped Ether were taken.
Due to this, Wormhole started a $10,000,000 bug bounty program on ImmuneFi, which was meant to provide added security to users and support the project’s commitment to decentralized finance. The aim of this project is to prevent the reoccurrence of the incidence mentioned above. It will also focus on issues such as governance manipulation, the divulgence of private keys, and other possible Sybil attacks.
