Cross-chain bridges on the alert – Vitalik Buterin is the co-founder ofEthereum (ETH). In addition to being an emblematic representative figure of the network, he is highly involved in its development. Thus, he does not hesitate to regularly express his opinion on the ecosystem and its evolutions.
A pessimist regarding cross-chain applications
Throughout the year 2021, the Ethereum network experienced significant periods of congestion. One of its main consequences has been theaugmentation drastic transaction fees. Faced with this phenomenon, many so-called blockchains EVM compatible emerged to compete with Ethereum. In parallel, many inter-chain bridge projects have been implemented.
As a result, these bridges allow quickly transfer network-to-network funds and to ensure better distribution of cash through the ecosystem. However, while part of the community is very fond of these applications, Vitalik Buterin is meanwhile “pessimistic regarding cross-chain applications”.
According to our man, these applications have important security issues, especially in the case of a 51% attack.
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A 51% fatal attack for small blockchains
Although it would be catastrophic, a 51% attack would not necessarily imply a loss of assets for the holders.
« Suppose you have 100 ETH on Ethereum, and Ethereum is 51% attacked, so some transactions are censored and/or canceled. No matter what, you will always have your 100 ETH. Even a 51% attacker cannot offer a block that strips you of your ETH, as such a block would violate protocol rules and thus be rejected by the network. »
Vitalik Buterin sur Reddit
However, the use of ponts cross-chain in the context of a 51% attack can be much more harmful.
“Imagine what happens if you move 100 ETH across a bridge on Solana to get 100 Solana-WETH, and then Ethereum is 51% attacked. The attacker deposited a bunch of his own ETH in Solana-WETH and then reversed this transaction on the Ethereum side, as soon as the Solana side confirmed it. The Solana-WETH contract is now no longer fully collateralized, and perhaps your 100 Solana-WETH is only worth 60 ETH. »
Vitalik Buterin
Of course, the threat of a attack 51% is extremely weak on Ethereum. Nevertheless, she is fine plus probable on the most small chains not having a security comparable to that of Ethereum. For example, the network ThorChain was the victim of 2 attacks directly targeting the protocol during the year 2021.
The risk of systemic contagion?
Take the example of the protocol Multichain. The latter offers an inter-chain routing service deployed across 13 different blockchains. In total, it counts more than $7 billion assets deposited.
“The problem gets worse when you go beyond two strings. If there are 100 chains, then there will eventually be dApps with many interdependencies between those chains, and a 51% attack on even a single chain might be a systemic contagion that threatens the economy over that entire ecosystem. »
Vitalik Buterin
Buterin also spoke on lighter topics. Thus, on the occasion of the new year, this one is income over 9 years of predictions. An opportunity to come back to his lack of foresight regarding the deployment times of Ethereum 2.0… but let’s conclude that he was not the only one to be wrong on this one!
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