Why is IBC currently the most secure cross-chain protocol?
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Why is IBC currently the most secure cross-chain protocol?
BC is not just limited to the Cosmos ecosystem; IBC light client implementations for Polkadot, Near, and Avalanche ecosystems have already begun.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Thyborg
Compiled by: TechFlow intern
Could IBC be hacked like Nomad yesterday, Harmony in June, or Axie Infinity in March? While it's still too early to claim any cryptocurrency technology as perfect, let's review why IBC stands out as one of the most secure cross-chain protocols available today.
On the surface, IBC works similarly to other cross-chain bridges:
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Users lock assets on the source chain;
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Relayers extract receipts and deliver them to the destination chain;
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The destination chain verifies the receipts;
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The destination chain mints a corresponding representation of the asset;
The address holding assets on the source chain is known as a custody wallet. Currently, Osmosis' custody address on the Cosmos Hub holds $56 million. So here arises the question: could this address—and similar custody addresses across every IBC-enabled chain—be compromised?
Here's how they prevent that: the IBC Go module controls these custody addresses. This module underwent a comprehensive audit by Informal Systems in January 2021 and has since been adopted by 49 Cosmos chains.
Hackers cannot gain access to IBC custody addresses through multi-signature developers—a flaw that led to the breaches at Harmony and Ronin. Nor can hackers exploit bugs after a "routine upgrade," because we conduct full chain upgrades approved through governance—this was Nomad’s issue.
While software bugs are common, the fact that 50 sovereign chains are already using Cosmos means developers are likely to notice changes in the SDK. More importantly, IBC isn't limited to just the Cosmos ecosystem—light client implementations of IBC are already underway in Polkadot, Near, and Avalanche ecosystems.
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