Towards Policy-Enabled Multi-Hop Routing for Cross-Chain Message Delivery
2026-04-06 • Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computing
Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster ComputingNetworking and Internet Architecture
AI summaryⓘ
The authors explain that blockchain systems struggle because assets and apps are spread out and hard to use together. They created xRoute, a new way for blockchains to send messages and connect with each other, without relying on central hubs that can slow things down or be risky. Their system uses a method like internet routing, letting chains set rules for sending messages and check that those rules are followed, all with a decentralized network of helpers. Tests showed xRoute works better and scales more smoothly than older hub-based methods, especially when many messages are sent at once.
blockchainliquidity fragmentationcross-chain communicationroutingdecentralized relayer networkInter-Blockchain Communication (IBC)message deliverysecurity policiesscalability
Authors
Amin Rezaei, Solomon L. Davidson, Bernard Wong
Abstract
Blockchain ecosystems face a significant issue with liquidity fragmentation, as applications and assets are distributed across many public chains with each only accessible by subset of users. Cross-chain communication was designed to address this by allowing chains to interoperate, but existing solutions limit communication to directly connected chains or route traffic through hubs that create bottlenecks and centralization risks. In this paper, we introduce xRoute, a cross-chain routing and message-delivery framework inspired by traditional networks. Our design brings routing, name resolution, and policy-based delivery to the blockchain setting. It allows applications to specify routing policies, enables destination chains to verify that selected routes satisfy security requirements, and uses a decentralized relayer network to compute routes and deliver messages without introducing a trusted hub. Experiments on the chains supporting the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol show that our approach improves connectivity, decentralization, and scalability compared to hub-based designs, particularly under heavy load.