Research on Blockchain Interoperability and Cross-Chain Technology

Abstract

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology with multi-party consensus, traceability and tamper-proof, which provides a broad application prospect for constructing efficient, trusted and secure data sharing mechanism and optimizing business processes. However, when blockchain is in a stage of rapid development, how to realize cross-chain interaction of information and cross-chain transfer of value has become an urgent problem to be solved in the process of blockchain extension to depth. Firstly, based on the review of the existing research results, the concept of blockchain interoperability is proposed, and it is divided into five aspects: inter-chain interoperability, inter-layer interoperability, inter-fork interoperability, inter-slice interoperability and interoperability between on-chain and off-chain. Secondly, by sorting out the evolution and implementation of cross-chain operation of blockchain, and referring to the TCP/IP architecture, a cross-chain operation model is designed, and the main implementation steps are functionally described. Thirdly, in view of the current research status of cross-chain operation, four key technologies of cross-chain operation, including notary mechanism, side chain/relay, hash lock and distributed private key control, are selected for analysis. Then, combined with the technical characteristics and application scenarios, the application demonstration is highlighted, some typical cross-chain application projects are introduced, and the security of blockchain cross-chain operation is analyzed. Finally, the future development trend of blockchain interoperability and cross-chain technology is summarized and explored.

Keywords

• blockchain; interoperability; cross-chain technology; information exchange; value transfer