Axelar's Mobius Development Stack (MDS) is now launched. It's only the beginning.

Tldr:

• Interchain Amplifier mainnet launch completed at the start of Q4 as part of Axelar's Mobius Development Stack (MDS) - a suite that includes Interchain Token Service (ITS), Axelar Virtual Machine (AVM), augmented security through EigenLayer and Babylon, and an open interoperability interface under development with OpenZeppelin.
• EigenLayer and Babylon Protocol integrations in development
• ITS hits mainnet, enabling support for Interchain Tokens with the click of a button
• Collaboration with OpenZeppelin for standardized cross-chain development

The year 2024 started with ambitious planning among Axelar protocol developers to hit a series of product milestones for 2024. It's exciting to see the progress made in just a few short months toward a scalable, programmable and secure multichain ecosystem.

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Recent Milestones

Before diving into future plans, let's recap some recent major accomplishments:

• February 6, 2024: Governance approval and launch of Interchain Token Service (ITS) on mainnet.
• March 14, 2024: Deployment of Axelar Virtual Machine (AVM) to mainnet, following on-chain governance approval.
• August 14, 2024: Interchain Amplifier released on testnet.
• August 28, 2024: Interchain Amplifier approved by governance vote and launched on mainnet.

These milestones have set the stage for some major advancements to Axelar's decentralized network in 2024 and beyond.

Key Initiatives for 2024

Axelar Virtual Machine (AVM) 

The AVM turns interoperable infrastructure into a programmable layer. Interop Labs has committed to developing the AVM as a platform for open-source tools enabling chain-agnostic development. 

Interchain Amplifier 

Powered by Axelar Virtual Machine, this service allows for permissionless, dynamic connections of arbitrary chains to the Axelar network.

Key updates:

• Bootstrapped initial Verifier set: A group of 25-40 Verifiers, elected by AXL token holders, will manage new-chain connections. This approach allows for robust security and scalable network growth.
• Amplifier Advisory Committee: This newly formed body will make recommendations for connections to be approved by the network's router.
• New chains to be integrated, including Flow, Hedera, Solana, Stacks, Stellar, Sui and XRP Ledger.

Interchain Token Service (ITS) 

The Interchain Token Service (ITS) offers developers tools to create and manage tokens with native fungibility and custom functionality across all connected chains.

ITS allows builders to replace wrapped tokens with a burn-and-mint supply management approach to ensure native representation on each chain. Unique token features (e.g., governance rights, yield mechanisms) are preserved across all chains. Plus, for standard tokens, ITS Portal allows for no-code creation and deployment.

Augmented Security Integrations

To boost our security model, we're working on integrations with leading restaking protocols:

• EigenLayer integration: Partnering with EigenLayer allows verifiers to bond restaked ETH as collateral to provide augmented cross-chain security guarantees without additional capital requirements.
• Babylon integration: By leveraging Babylon's staking solution, verifiers can bond BTC to bring Bitcoin-level security to Axelar's cross-chain communication infrastructure.

New Chain Integrations

Axelar currently connects over 30 chains. Moving forward, this number may expand significantly. Teams are actively working on integrating a diverse range of blockchain ecosystems, including:

• Flow
• Hedera
• Solana
• Stacks
• Stellar
• Sui
• XRP Ledger

Open Interoperability Interface

In collaboration with OpenZeppelin, we're developing standardized semantics that support an open interoperability interface. A dApp that adopts these semantics will be able to plug in any compatible interoperability network on the back end. 

• Wholly vendor-agnostic standards for cross-chain communication
• Integration of these standards into OpenZeppelin libraries
• Equipping all developers to build multichain-capable dApps from day one

Tokenomics and Network Enhancements

The Axelar community is exploring improvements to network economics and functionality:

• A mechanism has been proposed to send AXL transaction fees to a burn address, instead of distributing them to tokenholders. 
• New utility for the AXL token is expanding with the deployment of Interchain Amplifier to mainnet.

All changes to tokenomics are subject to on-chain governance vote. 

Looking Ahead

The progress Axelar protocol has made and the growth of the ecosystem of multichain applications built with Axelar has been exceptional. As the ecosystem continues to grow, the Axelar community is united around a vision of a seamlessly connected Web3.

We invite developers, users and blockchain enthusiasts to join this journey. Your creativity and support drive Web3 toward an interconnected future!

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