Polkadot ecosystem goes multi-chain with XCM launch

Key receivers

Polkadot launched XCM, a “consensus messaging” format that allows communication between different parachains in the network. With the integration of XCM, Polkadot is finally delivering on its promise of becoming a fully interconnected multi-chain ecosystem. The system has been audited and tested at Polkadot's pre-production test site, Kusama.

Share this article

Polkadot has completed one of its most anticipated milestones: the release of the “node consensus” messaging XCM and becoming a fully interconnected multi-chain ecosystem.

Polkadot will be fully functional.

Polkadot's long-awaited update to its communication system has finally gone live.

After passing the community vote, v0.9.19 is out on Polkadot. This update includes improvements to the Polkadot runtime to enable parachain-to-parachain messaging on XCM and the inclusion of #Statemint assets (such as NFTs) and teleports. pic.twitter.com/uqIB5di2Q1

— Polkadot (@Polkadot) May 4, 2022

Polkadot, a scalable, decentralized, multi-chain ecosystem built on Parity technology, today announced the launch of XCM—a “conversational messaging” platform that enables communication between the network's various parachains. According to Wednesday's press release, XCM's launch means the network has achieved its goal of becoming a “fully interoperable multi-chain ecosystem.”

Polkadot is a blockchain network that hopes to interoperate by hosting a network of interconnected, modular, and independent blockchains called parachains. A separate network called the Relay Chain is placed on the core, which serves as a basic security layer for the parachains.. XCM, otherwise known as the Cross-Consensus Messaging Format, is a language that enables communication between parachains, smart contracts and Substrate pallets that provide custom functionality on the blockchain. Commenting on XCM's release, Speed Chief Technical Officer Hoon KimsHelp:

“I see traditional smart contracts on Layer 1 blockchains setting up shop in a walled government. Then first we have bridges that look like trade routes that connect nations to nations. Now we have XCM, which is like free trade agreement blockchains. This is the natural future.”

Full chain interoperability is the most protected feature of the Polkadot ecosystem. The content of Polkadot's vision and the project has been on the roadmap since it entered development in 2017. Polkadot, a cross-consensus messaging format that allows communication between parachains, is almost two years after the network was released in May 2020. In today's announcement, the system has been fully audited and tested on Kusama, an independent blockchain network. Like Polkadot's public testing environment.

In subsequent iterations of the system, Polkadot has confirmed that it is running what is known as XCMP or “Cross-Chain Message Passing”, which allows for direct parachain-to-parachain communication with no interference by the Relay Chain. XCMP allows messages to be sent to blockchains such as Ethereum and Bitcoin while being transmitted directly.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this article owns ETH and several other cryptocurrencies.

Share this article