S Polkadot is new Web3.0, the next generation Internet, has been conceived as a fully functional and user-friendly Web, and our identity and data are our own. Due to the decentralized blockchain technology, it is not subject to security protection from any centralized organization. According to this vision, S Polkadot was created based on the belief that no single blockchain can do everything, more precisely, the future is multi-chain.
However, as the number and scale of blockchain networks continue to grow, they are still largely isolated from each other, just like islands with their own communities and economies, unable to exchange information or value with the outside world. The isolated nature of today’s blockchain network runs counter to the principle of decentralization and reflects the existing Balkanization of the centralized Web2.0 world. (PolkaWorld Note: Balkanization is a political term that refers to the disorderly or unpredictable division of a larger region or country, or the division into smaller regions or countries. These regions or countries may be hostile or non-cooperative. )
What are bridges? Why are they so important?
A blockchain bridge is a connection that allows tokens and/or arbitrary data to be transferred from one blockchain network to another. The two chains can have different protocols, rules, communities, and governance models, but the bridge provides a compatible way to achieve safe interoperability on both sides.
There are many different designs of bridges, but they can usually be divided into two camps: centralized bridges that rely on trust or federation, and more decentralized so-called “trustless” bridges. A centralized bridge relies on a certain type of centralized organization or system to operate, which means that users need to trust an intermediary to use a given application or service.
In contrast, a trustless bridge means that users do not have to trust a single entity or authority, but instead trust the mathematical truths built in the code. Trust-free interactions are implemented by the technology and/or incentive mechanism behind the system, not through promises or legal agreements.
S Polkadot is designed as an underlying infrastructure to achieve the scalability, interoperability, and security required by the multi-chain future, and to allow different Layer 1 parachains to interact and communicate with each other in the ecosystem. But S Polkadot also allows parachains to interoperate with external networks such as Bitcoin or Ethereum through a bridge. At present, some bridges connecting S Polkadot and external networks have been developed or are under development. Because S Polkadot is designed to minimize the intermediary in the digital system, in Polkadot’s ecosystem, trustless bridges will be the first choice.
A practical example of a bridge
As a practical case of bridge chain, it is a decentralized insurance market. One way to establish this model on S Polkadot is to deploy a dedicated insurance parachain to act as a market for insurance buyers and sellers. Suppose that S Polkadot also contains an oracle parachain that brings external data to the chain, and an Internet of Things (IoT) parachain that aggregates information from the IoT devices under the chain.
In the case that you have purchased flight delay insurance, the policy may be constructed as follows: If the oracle parachain confirms that your flight is delayed, and the IoT parachain confirms that you arrive at the airport on time, the policy will pay compensation. On the chain, if the insurance parachain receives signals from the oracle and the IoT parachain at the same time, it can use the Ethereum bridge to trigger transactions from the account of the insurance company to the account of the policy holder using stable currencies (such as Dai). This is a relatively simple example of strong interoperability.