Exclusive: The Future of Web3 is Seamless Backend Integrations, Wormhole’s Cathy Yoon Says
Wormhole aims to tackle Web3 interoperability issues by providing a seamless backend integration that allows users to transition easily between chains, and perform actions faster and at a lower cost.
In an exclusive interview with Cryptonews, Cathy Yoon, General Counsel at Wormhole Foundation, shed light on the role of Wormhole in the blockchain ecosystem and discussed the importance of cross-chain communication and interoperability for the future of cryptocurrency.
Wormhole, according to Yoon, is a significant player in the blockchain space, although it aims to remain behind the scenes.
Wormhole Enables Blockchains to Communicate With Each Other
Serving as a generic messaging platform, Wormhole enables different blockchain networks to communicate with each other.
This cross-chain communication is crucial in breaking down the silos that currently exist within the blockchain landscape.
Yoon emphasized that for scalability, mass adoption, and a seamless user experience, all chains must be able to interact with each other effortlessly.
The need for cross-chain communication and interoperability is paramount for cryptocurrency to reach mainstream adoption, Yoon explained.
With various applications and decentralized exchanges operating on different networks, the user experience has been hindered by the need to navigate multiple chains, exchanges, and transaction fees.
Wormhole aims to solve this problem by providing a seamless backend integration that allows users to transition easily between chains, perform actions faster, and at a lower cost.
“What has been frustrating before is that if you want to go from one chain or one application built on one network to another you might have to go to an exchange sell out and pay transaction fees,” she said.
“The idea is to have Wormhole in the backend so you can seamlessly go from one chain to another and to do what you need to do faster and cheaper.”
Looking to the future, Yoon highlighted the importance of clean interoperability layers and multiple integration points.
She envisions a world where users won’t need to worry about the technical aspects of cross-chain communication, as Wormhole and other similar solutions will handle it seamlessly.
Tokenization of real-world assets is also a growing trend, and Yoon believes that the ability to mint assets on any chain without concerns about its longevity will drive adoption.
The concept of cross-chain worlds removes the need to agonize over which chain to choose, as there will be a path for assets to exist even if a particular chain becomes deprecated.
Wormhole Launches Governance Token
Regarding Wormhole’s recent updates and future plans, Yoon revealed that the Wormhole protocol governance token has been launched.
Now, the focus is on governance itself, which is a significant milestone for the project.
Wormhole is rolling out a multi-chain governance structure, starting with support for both Solana and Ethereum. This approach allows for broader ecosystem participation and sets the stage for further expansion.
Last year, Wormhole lost almost $325 million to hackers, becoming the second-largest hack of the year after Axie Infinity’s Ronin blockchain exploit that saw hackers make off with about $625 million worth of Ethereum and USDC.
In June, Jump Crypto, the Chicago-based crypto arm of Jump Trading that helped develop DeFi project Wormhole, managed to counter-exploit the Wormhole protocol hacker and retrieve $140 million worth of tokens.
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