Dialogue with Analog Business Leader: AI, RWA, and meme provide three major growth opportunities for cross-chain communication

Interview: flowie, ChainCatcher

Guest: Eric Wang, Head of Business at Analog

Organizer: flowie, ChainCatcher

Recently, the full-chain interoperability protocol Analog announced the completion of a $5 million expansion seed round financing, with investments from Foresight Ventures, Gate Ventures, and others, reaching a post-investment valuation of $300 million.

In February 2024, Analog also secured $16 million in seed funding. The investment team behind it is quite impressive, including Tribe Capital, NGC Ventures, Wintermute, GSR, NEAR, Orange DAO, Balaji Srinivasan, and others.

The backing from numerous well-known investment institutions is attributed to the diverse and experienced background of the Analog team in the crypto field. The founding team members have experience from key projects in the crypto industry, such as Polkadot, X Fund, Chainlink, and Y Combinator.

In the fiercely competitive cross-chain communication space, Analog aims to address the challenges of fragmentation, centralization, and security in cross-chain interactions. Eric Wang, the head of business at Analog, stated that Analog positions itself as a "one-stop" shop for cross-chain developers, dedicated to meeting all native cross-chain DApp development needs, allowing developers or users to seamlessly use different blockchains under a single, unified application.

In 2025, Analog will actively explore innovations in AI data oracles, RWA interoperability, cross-chain memes, and more, striving to become the most widely adopted "chain abstraction" product.

Analog announced the launch of its mainnet last December and began its token public offering in January this year. What differentiated paths and key roadmaps does Analog have for 2025? What growth opportunities remain in the cross-chain communication space? Recently, Eric Wang shared insights in an interview with ChainCatcher.

Differentiated Paths of Analog

1. ChainCatcher: Can you share how you entered the crypto field? What important work experiences and achievements did you have before joining Analog?

Eric Wang: I graduated with a bachelor's degree from UCLA and later pursued a master's and PhD in chemistry at Stanford. During my PhD studies at Stanford, I paused my academic career to start a business and co-founded ROK Capital, a crypto hedge fund that has invested in over 40 projects and raised about $30 million.

I have also had the privilege of contributing to global cryptocurrency events, such as Korea Blockchain Week, and providing strategic advice to some top Web2 companies.

Additionally, I co-founded a decentralized storage company, Archon Technologies, with friends. Later, while working at the Web3 infrastructure company Parity Technologies, I gradually moved from ecosystem development to the role of strategic growth director and led the establishment of the Substrate Builders Program, facilitating some important collaborations.

Currently, I also provide strategic advice to several well-known projects within the Polkadot ecosystem. I feel fortunate to combine my technical background with business experience to build in the blockchain and crypto industry.

2. ChainCatcher: From public information, it seems that other founding team members of Analog come from well-known projects like Polkadot, X Fund, Chainlink, and Y Combinator. Could you please provide a detailed introduction to the founding team members of Analog? How do they support the development of the Analog project?

Eric Wang: Chief Architect Victor Young plays a crucial role in Analog's strategic development. He graduated from the University of Waterloo, with expertise in cryptography, security, distributed systems, full-chain frameworks, and privacy. He has a deep understanding of blockchain and decentralized protocols and excels at designing innovative business models.

Victor Young has also accumulated key experience in developing startups at several well-known companies, including Hyperloop, DocSend, and eNet. He built the first actuarial automated underwriting and policy binding application for a Fortune 100 life and health insurance company, reducing the underwriting process from 8 weeks to just 8 seconds. He also scaled a company from 0 employees and contractors to 500 without any venture funding.

Co-founder Sanchal Ranjan currently oversees product development, token economics, and financing at Analog. He is a founding member of OrangeDAO and has a consulting background at companies like Deloitte and KPMG. Sanchal Ranjan previously built a B2C co-living platform funded by YC, which was acquired by Tiger Global's portfolio.

3. ChainCatcher: What was the initial intention of the founding team when establishing Analog? What vision and goals do they hope to achieve in the blockchain field?

Eric Wang: Currently, the Web3 blockchain data space is fragmented, with users, assets, applications, and ecosystems operating independently. Existing blockchain bridges, while useful, are mostly temporary solutions that are centralized and vulnerable to attacks. These attacks erode trust and pose systemic risks to the blockchain ecosystem.

Is there a way to safely enable users and developers to interact with users and dApps on any platform?

This is where Analog comes in. Analog is a trustless full-chain interoperability protocol that provides powerful low-level communication primitives for building diverse cross-chain applications. Engineers can implement cross-chain applications, such as cross-chain decentralized exchanges (DEX) or multi-chain yield aggregators, without relying on trusted custodians or wrapped assets.

Analog is committed to making direct, trustless transactions between all chains possible, integrating decentralized liquidity, and empowering users to fully utilize applications across different chains. We are creating the network structure for a fully connected full-chain ecosystem of the future.

4. ChainCatcher: The cross-chain communication space is highly competitive. Who are Analog's main competitors in the crypto market? What are Analog's differentiated paths and competitive advantages compared to them? What unique aspects does Analog's technical architecture have?

Eric Wang: Analog's main competitors include Axelar, LayerZero, Chainlink, Gelato, Wormhole, Graph, and Hyperlane. These competitors typically focus on 1-2 cross-chain development services, requiring developers to integrate multiple products to build DApps.

In fact, most interoperability solutions currently make it difficult for developers to create seamless applications. Analog allows developers or users to seamlessly use different blockchains under a single unified application. This means that smart contracts deployed across multiple chains can work closely together, making it easier for developers to view them as part of a single subsystem.

The AnalogOne SDK provides developers with a single access point to seamlessly integrate all products. Developers can use Watch (for data), GMP (for sending transactions/assets), and Automation (for automating business processes) individually or together. This reduces the need for multiple integrations and provides a more efficient and coherent development experience.

Additionally, Analog offers native cross-chain functionalities that competitors lack. For example, Analog Automation allows for setting conditions and triggers across different chains, making it easier to automate cross-chain workflows. Watch can aggregate data across multiple chains, unlike Graph, which requires setting up subgraphs for each chain individually.

Analog also takes a different approach to security. Analog provides customizable security parameters for different transactions. Currently, Axelar uses a single parameter for all transactions, lacking flexibility. LayerZero's security is defined by the application, which cannot provide guarantees.

Moreover, Analog is built on Substrate, which offers the advantage of easy upgrades, ensuring that new proof mechanisms can be implemented easily, which is different from competitors. By addressing these key aspects, Analog positions itself as a "one-stop" shop for cross-chain developers, meeting all native cross-chain DApp development needs.

Three Common Challenges in Cross-Chain Communication

5. ChainCatcher: Cross-chain communication projects are often criticized for lacking decentralization and being vulnerable to significant security attacks. What is Analog's response to this?

Eric Wang: Our approach centers around Timechain, an independent blockchain that employs a nominated proof-of-stake (NPoS) consensus mechanism, ensuring that all network activities are transparent and verifiable. This decentralized framework eliminates single points of failure and significantly reduces vulnerability to security attacks.

Additionally, after our token generation event (TGE), we plan to implement a more decentralized governance structure, drawing on Polkadot's OpenGov model to empower the community in the decision-making process.

6. ChainCatcher: What common challenges does the industry still face in solving cross-chain communication interoperability?

Eric Wang: Cross-chain interoperability faces critical barriers, but Analog is developing solutions that can redefine possibilities:

First, fragmented standards and complexity. Most protocols force developers to choose between incompatible systems (like IBC vs. CCIP vs. LayerZero). Analog Watch addresses this issue with a cross-chain view—a unified query layer that can aggregate data from any chain in a single request. It can be seen as SQL for Web3: designers create no-code automation rules, collectors are rewarded for maintaining data integrity, and consumers can seamlessly query through our SDK. There’s no longer a need to piece together isolated protocols.

Second, centralized bottlenecks and security risks. Bridges and validators remain major attack vectors. Analog's GMP eliminates the pre-registration requirement for contracts—this is an industry first—and provides a Boost mode for instant transactions, bypassing slow validations. Each transaction is protected by our Byzantine fault-tolerant consensus and time-proof protocol, with end-to-end tracking on Analog Explorer. Furthermore, our decentralized automation does not require centralized servers to operate.

Third, misaligned incentives and governance. Projects often prioritize short-term growth over ecosystem health. Analog's token economics balance rewards among designers, collectors, and consumers, while our governance draws on Polkadot's iterative model. After the TGE, stakeholders will drive upgrades through on-chain voting—without a centralized team controlling progress.

Moreover, Analog is also working to broaden its boundaries, not limited to the crypto field. Analog is attempting to connect on-chain systems with traditional financial systems. By combining our SDK's customizable trust model (optimized for speed, cost, or security), we are not only addressing interoperability issues but also aiming to build infrastructure for a unified financial ecosystem.

7. ChainCatcher: Analog recently launched its mainnet. Can you share the features of the mainnet launch and what upgrades have been made? What are the upcoming plans?

Eric Wang: In the initial phase, the mainnet operates as a proof-of-authority (PoA) network, laying the groundwork for subsequent runtime upgrades to gradually add Analog's core functionalities before the token generation event (TGE). By the time our token launches, our mainnet will feature NPoS consensus, cross-chain messaging, cross-chain querying, and more.

After successfully completing the three-phase testnet, the mainnet will enable true decentralization and interoperability solutions for developers, protocols, and users. Analog has now become a one-stop interoperability platform, providing a seamless tech stack for building cross-chain applications. By enabling complete smart contract execution across multiple chains, developers can create complex applications that respond to multi-chain ecosystem events.

The activities on the Analog testnet have exceeded expectations, attracting over 12 million website visits and over 400,000 participating accounts. In Analog Watch, users have listed over 290,000 smart contracts and created over 1.9 million datasets on supported chains. More than 42,000 users have completed "proof of humanity" (PoH) verification, and this number is expected to grow significantly by the time of the TGE.

The launch of the Analog mainnet marks a significant advancement in providing a secure and scalable platform for decentralized applications. With a simple, developer-friendly toolkit and a growing ecosystem, Analog aims to redefine the standards for future multi-chain experiences.

8. ChainCatcher: Analog recently initiated a public sale. Can you share the details of the token generation event (TGE) and airdrop plan? How has the token public sale progressed so far?

Eric Wang: The public sale is being conducted on Fjord Foundry and Republic, achieving initial success.

Regarding the airdrop, on January 15, the incentive testnet tasks and ATP point accumulation were officially discontinued. We notified each participant to ensure they had enough time to connect their Substrate wallets and Discord accounts.

By January 18, the first batch of eligible addresses was whitelisted based on all connected Substrate addresses, and the first batch of users' claim website went live on January 19. We have conducted four rounds of token distribution so far.

For any remaining eligible users, additional batches may be introduced. It is important to note that any unclaimed rewards will be returned to the Analog ecosystem fund after six months.

To maintain fairness in the process and recognize everyone's efforts, we distributed rewards as follows:

• The first 91.7% of participants received rewards based on a square root calculation.
• PoH users received an additional reward boost, starting with a minimum of 205 tokens.
• 5% of the token supply is reserved for the community, with validator rewards to be distributed later.

9. ChainCatcher: What is the current status of Analog's ecosystem development? Who are the important partners?

Eric Wang: Currently, over 50 projects are using or have committed to using Analog for development across various fields.

For example, the NFT marketplace Rarible, which has a total trading volume of over $350 million, can mint and store NFTs on any blockchain supported by Analog, allowing an NFT originally created on Ethereum to be minted and stored in a Solana wallet. This eliminates the need for users to deal with blockchain complexities, providing a seamless experience.

The multi-chain DAO creation and management platform StationX utilizes Analog's automated workflows to streamline cross-chain processes, from fund allocation to trigger-based actions, making DAO management more efficient and user-friendly.

The AI agent protocol Parami leverages Analog to enable AI agents to interact within decentralized communities across multiple chains.

The decentralized stablecoin project Frax Finance enhances the transparency and accuracy of FXS-USD pricing by integrating Analog Watch to send real-time oracle data across chains.

The decentralized geolocation technology platform XYO enhances accessibility to DePIN-supported data using Analog.

The platform Vemo Network, which converts locked crypto assets into tradable NFTs, utilizes Analog's cross-chain technology to lock assets across multiple chains and subsequently present them as NFTs.

We plan to have over 200 ecosystem partners by the end of this year, with at least half of them being active.

AI, RWA, and Memes: Growth Opportunities for Cross-Chain Communication

10. ChainCatcher: What are your expectations for the crypto market in 2025? Where do you see growth opportunities for cross-chain communication and Analog in 2025?

Eric Wang: The cross-chain communication space will be central to blockchain development in 2025. As DeFi, NFTs, and tokenized assets expand across different blockchains, interoperability will become a necessary feature rather than a niche capability.

We anticipate growth in the following key areas, giving Analog greater development potential in 2025.

First, AI-enhanced data oracle systems. The rise of AI agents will also require secure cross-chain access to real-time data. Analog is exploring collaborations with AI-driven protocols to provide trusted timestamp data, thereby driving automated decision-making processes in decentralized finance (DeFi) and other fields.

Second, interoperable RWAs. We initially achieved cross-chain tokenization of NFTs through Pixelport. We will leverage the same foundational technology to create interoperable real-world assets (RWAs). We believe this area will continue to grow, and we are currently in discussions with many projects in this field.

Third, cross-chain memes. This year, memecoins have been very popular, but they are mostly active on the Solana chain (with a few on Base). We hope to realize the vision of cross-chain memes. We will soon announce a product that can achieve this goal.

11. ChainCatcher: What other important roadmap projects or goals does Analog have for 2025?

Eric Wang: We are committed to launching products that users truly need.

We have built the core infrastructure. We will launch projects based on Analog in areas such as DeFAI, Memecoin, AI meme, and RWA. We believe these projects will bring significant heat and usage to our ecosystem.

We also firmly believe that DeFi will experience a significant revival this year and in the future. We have established partnerships with some major DeFi projects, such as Frax and Asymmetry Finance, and plan to continue expanding such collaborations.

We are dedicated to becoming the most widely adopted "chain abstraction" product.