Cross-chain messaging system Router Protocol has integrated Avalanche network’s C-Chain to enable communication between Avalanche and other supported blockchains, such as Polygon and Binance Smart Chain (BSC).
The integration gives users the ability to buy digital assets on Polygon or BSC in a single transaction without leaving the Avalanche network. Cross-chain services allow users to transfer data between different blockchains, which otherwise do not interact with each other.
Router previously raised nearly $4.1 million in a strategic funding round that saw participation from Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm of crypto exchange Coinbase, and influential crypto fund QCP Capital.
C-Chain, short for Contract Chain, is one of the three chains built into Avalanche. The others are Exchange Chain (X-Chain) and Platform Chain (P-Chain). All are validated and secured by a single primary network.
X-Chain is intended to allow users to create and exchange assets; P-Chain allows for the creation of smaller networks called “subnets;” C-Chain allows developers to deploy smart contracts, which in turn allow the creation of Avalanche-based products and services.
Some benefits to users include low-fee transfer of native assets, such as on Avalanche’s AVAX and Polygon’s MATIC directly without relying on third parties or having to use centralized crypto exchanges. Settlement for most transactions is expected to be less than one minute, the company said Thursday.
Router will automatically match trades between decentralized exchanges (DEX) on supported blockchains to look for the cheapest rates. This means if users want to swap from AVAX to MATIC, Router will check both Trader Joe and Pangolin, two Avalanche-based DEXs, and conduct the trade on whichever has the lower fee.
Ramani Ramachandran, a co-founder of Router Protocol, said such products allow the broader industry to reach a “multi-blockchain” future in which products and services run on several interconnected networks instead of a single, dominant blockchain.
“As blockchain ecosystems continue to grow, they are becoming increasingly siloed and unconnected from each other, preventing the industry from reaching its full potential,” he said in the statement.
A forthcoming software developer kit from Router Protocol will allow developers to build cross-chain applications that can interact with multiple chains.