Cycle Network: A bridge-less connection for all blockchains

With the development of blockchain technology, the ecosystem of multi-chain coexistence continues to grow, providing users with various choices. Unlike Bitcoin's Proof of Work (PoW), Proof of Stake (PoS) reduces the costs of network initiation and maintenance, promoting the increase of innovative projects. However, diversity brings fragmentation in liquidity and usage, affecting user experience. The economic incentives of different projects exacerbate this phenomenon, leading developers to prefer creating new chains rather than developing on existing ones.

In Web3, cross-chain interactions rely on insecure or centralized tools, lacking a unified security-efficient management protocol. This is different from the seamless secure communication in Web2 applications through standardized protocols (like HTTP). Cross-chain interactions in Web3 often require bridges or centralized exchanges, increasing complexity and potential security risks. Cross-chain bridges involve locking assets and minting equivalent tokens on the target chain, which, while facilitating asset flow, also introduces operational complexity and security risks, with losses from cross-chain bridge attacks increasing annually. The complexity of these operations deters new users and forces existing users back to centralized off-chain applications. Why must chains rely on bridging products?

To address this issue, the concept of chain abstraction has emerged. Chain abstraction aims to simplify user interactions with different blockchains by providing a unified interface and tools, thereby enhancing interoperability and user experience.

When Cycle Network was established in October 2022, the concept of chain abstraction had not yet been formally defined. Cycle Network is committed to solving the problems of multi-chain fragmentation and capital disintegration, aiming to improve users' on-chain experience and provide safer, more efficient cross-chain solutions. Through bridge-less technology, Cycle Network is striving to achieve a more connected and user-friendly blockchain ecosystem, paving the way for future blockchain applications.

Bridge-less Embedded Experience is True Chain Abstraction

Although decentralized mechanisms are the safest algorithms, they have not been widely adopted due to the complex operations required by Web3. Realizing this, the Cycle Team is continuously working in this direction, even before the term "chain abstraction" was coined.

As the concept of chain abstraction spreads, more and more projects are beginning to explore its potential. Various projects have innovated in chain abstraction solutions, with some providing universal account systems that allow users to access multiple blockchains through a single account, while others integrate multiple cross-chain bridge protocols using cross-chain bridge aggregators. The Cycle Network team adopts a decentralized, bridge-less solution to seamlessly connect all blockchains. With the emergence of Layer 2 solutions and numerous chains, this innovation ensures that end users and developers are no longer isolated or fragmented, able to share liquidity, pay transaction fees, and sign transactions without relying on traditional bridging.

The integration of Cycle Network is crucial for both end users and developers. These two are the most critical participants in the Web3 ecosystem, and Cycle Network's decentralized bridge-less transaction process provides them with significant convenience.

Decentralized Bridge-less Transaction Process

The core technology of Cycle Network utilizes a multi-layer architecture based on Verifiable State Aggregation (VSA), combining a security layer, an expansion layer, and a Cycle layer to facilitate seamless cross-chain transactions. The system uses zk-rollup technology to aggregate transactions into batches, which are then processed by zk-rollup nodes that generate zk proofs to verify transactions without exposing their details. The verifiable aggregation sorter sorts and packages these batches, ensuring efficient transaction processing.

Next, the Omni State Channel Indexer (OSCI) performs decentralized indexing, ensuring the availability and verifiability of each transaction's state. Verified transaction records are stored on the Cycle layer, making direct cross-chain data operations possible through a single SDK interface. Finally, updates to the Cycle layer are broadcast back to their respective chains, reflecting asset transfers or smart contract executions, ensuring that all nodes in the network have consistent and up-to-date information.

This approach not only enhances security and integrity but also reduces transaction costs and supports seamless interoperability between different blockchain architectures (including EVM and non-EVM chains as well as Layer 2 solutions). Cycle Network's innovation undoubtedly injects new vitality into the blockchain ecosystem, promoting the widespread application of decentralized technology.

Practical Applications of Bridge-less Solutions

Decentralized bridge-less central solutions seamlessly connect all blockchains, eliminating intermediary steps and reducing potential security risks. This approach provides significant benefits for emerging and existing blockchain platforms, end users, and developers.

Piggy Bank is a pioneering full-chain asset management platform that fully leverages Cycle Network to provide a revolutionary asset management experience. As a flagship product, Piggy Bank simplifies the use of blockchain, becoming a crypto asset management tool accessible to everyone. It offers a bridge-less experience, utilizing Cycle's full-chain liquidity sharing solution to automate and optimize investment strategies across multiple chains.

For End Users

Full-chain Bridge-less User Experience

Piggy Bank effectively eliminates the complexities faced by Web3 and Web2 users across different chains. Users can easily manage, trade, invest, and mint assets without worrying about the complexities of various chains, fuel tokens, or third-party bridging. This seamless experience allows users to handle their crypto assets as easily as managing traditional financial products.

High-yield Platform Aggregating Full-chain DeFi Protocols

Piggy Bank utilizes Cycle Network to aggregate DeFi protocols from any network (such as L1, EVM, non-EVM, BTC L2, etc.). Through AI-driven analysis, Piggy Bank can evaluate security, yield, and stability, recommending personalized investment strategies. Users can simply select investment options with one click to achieve higher returns through cross-chain aggregation and compounding.

This innovation not only enhances user experience but also brings new possibilities for crypto asset management. The successful example of Piggy Bank showcases the importance of bridge-less solutions in advancing the blockchain ecosystem, deserving high praise.

Diversified Asset Classes

Piggy Bank supports a variety of asset classes by integrating Cycle's full-chain DeFi center, demonstrating its leading innovative capabilities. Users can manage physical assets such as real estate and art, as well as access various financial derivatives (such as options, futures, leveraged tokens), and engage in asset lending and liquidity mining across all chains, reflecting its broad application scenarios.

For Developers

Shared Liquidity Pool

The integration of Piggy Bank with Cycle's liquidity aggregator consolidates dispersed liquidity resources into a shared pool, significantly enhancing overall liquidity and capital efficiency. This approach maximizes returns and simplifies liquidity management, providing strong support for developers.

Secure and Low-cost

Cycle Network provides Piggy Bank with a unified interface and protocol, greatly simplifying blockchain operations and integration. The shared liquidity pool not only reduces risks associated with single-chain financing but also minimizes potential fraud, highlighting its advantages in security and cost-effectiveness.

Example: Bridge-less Minting of NFTs

The highly anticipated Piggy Box event attracted over 246,000 accounts, with nearly 190,000 assets minted in a bridge-less manner. Users from any chain can mint assets with one click without leaving their original chain, showcasing its seamless user experience. Transactions, fees, and signatures are seamlessly processed on the user's preferred chain, greatly enhancing user convenience.

Collaboration with BEVM

The collaboration with BEVM—the first fully decentralized EVM-compatible Bitcoin L2 using BTC as fuel—highlights the strength of Cycle Network's bridge-less solution. In just three days, it attracted 40K new users who could seamlessly mint BEVM Genesis Boxes without dealing with cross-chain operations or fees. This achievement demonstrates the advantages and usability of Piggy Bank in real-world applications.

Collaboration with IoTeX

The collaboration with IoTeX also proves the powerful functionality of Cycle Network's bridge-less solution in practical applications. In a recent testnet NFT minting event, users were able to mint IoTeX testnet assets directly from various blockchains, and after completing the minting experience, they received exclusive Genesis Boxes, unlocking rich rewards within the Cycle Network ecosystem. Within two days, 5,000 NFTs were minted through Piggy Bank, allowing users from any chain to participate and eliminating the complexities of cross-chain interactions.

Open Bridge-less SDK

Based on these successful collaborations, Cycle Network's decentralized bridge-less information transmission has successfully served multiple emerging chains, helping applications break free from the limitations of specific chains and achieve seamless operations across multiple blockchains. This capability is crucial for developers seeking to expand their influence and user base. Currently, the bridge-less SDK is open to any EVM chain and DApp, enabling developers to provide users with a bridge-less experience without fee restrictions, showcasing its leading position in the industry.

Conclusion

Cycle Network focuses on achieving chain abstraction through bridge-less cross-chain solutions, providing a secure and simplified alternative that effectively addresses the interoperability challenges of traditional cross-chain bridges. Utilizing zk-rollup technology and aggregation sorters, Cycle Network brings a new cross-chain experience to developers and users, meeting diverse cross-chain needs.

This chain abstraction-based approach successfully overcomes the complexities and fragmentation in a multi-chain environment, providing strong support for the widespread adoption and interoperability of blockchain technology.

As blockchain technology continues to advance and the multi-chain environment matures, Cycle Network demonstrates a firm commitment to further developing chain abstraction and cross-chain technology, aiming to overcome existing limitations and explore new application areas. This forward-looking exploration will undoubtedly drive the development of the entire blockchain ecosystem.