In recent years, with the surge in the number of blockchain networks, the issues of asset and information silos between different chains have become increasingly prominent. Cross-chain bridges and cross-chain protocols have thus become key infrastructures for connecting ecosystems, releasing liquidity, and promoting multi-chain collaboration. As we enter 2025, this trend is reaching a new turning point: technology is continuously evolving, with more protocols receiving significant upgrades and widespread adoption; at the same time, challenges such as security, compliance, and user experience are also on the rise.

Firstly, from a technical perspective, several cross-chain protocols are accelerating their iterations in 2025, enhancing interoperability and performance. For example, LayerZero is widely adopted for its lightweight and efficient cross-chain messaging and transaction mechanisms, currently supporting multiple blockchains and providing cross-chain infrastructure for numerous DeFi applications. Axelar, with its "universal connector" architecture, continues to expand its inter-chain connectivity range and supports cross-chain asset transfers, cross-chain lending, and NFT cross-chain operations. Meanwhile, Chainlink CCIP, as an oracle-driven cross-chain solution, has become a cross-chain option for some traditional institutions and large DeFi projects, promoting the development of "enterprise-level cross-chain."

Secondly, the integration of cross-chain protocols and DeFi applications is accelerating, making the trend of "full-chain interoperability" increasingly significant. Many cross-chain DeFi projects are utilizing the aforementioned cross-chain infrastructure to achieve asset cross-chain transfers, lending, and trading, thereby breaking down inter-chain silos and allowing liquidity to flow freely across chains. This multi-chain collaboration model is also prompting more projects to view cross-chain capabilities as a fundamental feature rather than an additional module.

However, the widespread adoption of cross-chain technology has also brought challenges, with security being particularly prominent. Cross-chain bridges often need to handle complex logic such as locking, releasing, minting, and burning, coupled with the differences in consensus mechanisms and validation models across different chains, leading to a significantly increased attack surface. In recent years, multiple attacks on cross-chain bridges have made the consensus that "cross-chain means higher risk" prevalent in the industry.

Additionally, user experience and the stability of infrastructure still have shortcomings. Cross-chain operations often involve different wallets, different chain rules, and complex transaction confirmation processes; if a bridge protocol is upgraded or paused, it can easily lead to failures at the application level, affecting user experience.

Compliance pressure is also becoming significant. As the scale of cross-chain funds expands, regulatory agencies are gradually focusing on the traceability of cross-chain transactions and the potential challenges that cross-chain systems may pose in terms of anti-money laundering and financial transparency. If cross-chain facilities cannot adapt to stricter regulatory requirements, their adoption in mainstream financial systems will face limitations.

Against this backdrop, a new generation of cross-chain solutions is attempting to combine security, compliance, and usability. For example, by increasing the proportion of decentralized validation, using multi-signature and multi-party computation technologies, introducing stricter audit processes, and enhancing cross-chain behavior tracking capabilities to reduce systemic risks. Some cross-chain protocols are also beginning to proactively align with financial standards to facilitate future collaboration with more compliant institutions.

Looking ahead, the evolution direction of cross-chain infrastructure may be the integration of "secure cross-chain + compliant cross-chain + efficient cross-chain." Under the overarching trend of institutional entry, asset tokenization, and the continuous growth of multi-chain DeFi, cross-chain protocols have the opportunity to become a key bridge connecting on-chain assets with real-world financial systems. However, this is contingent upon resolving the current issues of trust, stability, and regulation.

Overall, cross-chain interoperability in 2025 is entering a critical phase. On one hand, protocols like LayerZero, Axelar, and Chainlink CCIP provide the technical backbone for multi-chain collaboration; on the other hand, security issues, user experience bottlenecks, and compliance pressures remain unavoidable challenges for the industry. If cross-chain technology can continue to mature within a security and regulatory framework, it will become an important force in driving blockchain towards mainstream financial infrastructure.

Related: Ethereum whales show signs of unease: On-chain and derivatives data reduce the likelihood of ETH rising to $4,000.

Original article: “Cross-chain interoperability enters a critical phase: from fragmented ecosystems to full-chain collaboration”

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