What Is Axelar Network?
Of all the Cosmos projects we validate for, Axelar Network is the one we’re most excited about. Behind the scenes it’s quite complicated, so we’ll do our best to break this down so everyone can understand what axelar network is.
Is Axelar a Blockchain?
You bet Axelar is a blockchain, but it’s different than all the others. Axelar is built to bring all blockchain ecosystems together. It’s a scalable cross-chain communication system, or an overlay, or a bridge. Decentralized application developers can plug their protocols into the Axelar network, or build on top of Axelar. They’re then connected to every ecosystem Axelar is bridged to. Building on Axelar allows developers to instantly deploy their dApps across ecosystems, instead of choosing one ecosystem to build on.
Circle, the company behind the stable coin USDC has announced that they’ll launch USDC natively on Axelar!
How does the Axelar bridge work?
Validators have to run more than just a validator node. We have to run an Ethereum node and lite nodes to every ecosystem it connects to, like Polkadot and Avalanche. There is tons of infrastructure that delegators don’t see or need to concern themselves with. Using the Cosmos/Axelar Software Development Kit (SDK), smart contract and blockchain developers can call contracts from all supported chains.
This is in sharp contrast to pairwise cross-chain bridges, that only connect 2 chains to one another.
Axelar uses a gateway protocol responsible for cross-chain routing, and a transfer protocol to function.
According to this Medium article, Axelar’s ultimate goal is to build the underlying infrastructure for onboarding the next billion people onto Web3. In order to achieve this goal, Axelar will:
1. Make it easy for blockchain developers to plug in and communicate with other chains.
2. Provide decentralized application (dApp) developers with cross-chain composability.
3. Allow users to interact seamlessly with applications across multiple ecosystems.
Axelar Network Bridge
The bridge offers a seamless user experience from end to end. You can find the Axelar Satellite bridge here.
The Satellite bridge allows you to exchange assets across previously siloed ecosystems. This transfer of assets is between both Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and non-EVM blockchains: Avalanche, Ethereum, Fantom, Moonbeam, Polygon and Terra. Support for other networks and assets is continually rolling out over the coming weeks and months.
Does Axelar have a token?
Yes, the Axelar Network coin is the AXL token. You can find it on Coingecko and Coinmarketcap. The project is in its infancy, so the token isn’t widely available on centralized exchanges yet. Coinlist and Gate.io are the only two so far. The AXL token is most easily swapped for on decentralized exchange, Osmosis.
How do you stake the Axelar token?
Staking idle crypto holdings to support the network and earn block rewards is an excellent way to earn passive income. Currently AXL tokens can only be staked using Keplr wallet. We have an AXL staking tutorial with complete instructions. More wallet integrations, including Cosmostation will come along soon.
Unlike the Cosmos Hub, that requires a 21 day unbonding period for those wish to unstake their tokens, the Axelar unbonding period is only 7 days. However, we only recommend staking tokens for those with medium to long-term time horizons.
Who are Axelar’s competitors?
Axelar’s main competitor in the Cosmos ecosystem is Gravity Bridge. We also validate for Gravity Bridge and have a GRAV staking tutorial for those who are interested. We like to describe Gravity Bridge as a public utility, while Axelar is more like a toll both on a privately owned bridge.
Synapse is another competitor.
Where is Axelar’s headquarters?
Axelar is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by Sergey Gorbunov and Georgios Vlachos in 2020. More detail can be found on Axelar’s website and on Crunchbase.
The Axelar foundation works with the community and ecosystem partners to facilitate its growth.
More information can be found below:
Axelar whitepaper
Axelar network block explorer
Axelar Medium
Axelar Twitter
Axelar LinkedIn
Axelar Discord
Axelar Reddit
Axelar Telegram
Axelar documents for developers
Axelar docs
Axelar Github
Axelar developers page
Axelar grants program
Axelar academy
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below or shoot us an email.
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