Connecting new chains via the Amplifier Advisory Committee

Axelar has taken a major leap toward connecting all blockchains securely and fully with the mainnet launch of Interchain Amplifier. A core component of Axelar's Mobius Development Stack (MDS), Interchain Amplifier is a smart-contract-based toolkit developed by Interop Labs, providing many benefits for ecosystems and application-specific chains seeking to deliver blockchain interoperability:

• Fast, self-service connection: Developers can integrate most blockchains into the Axelar ecosystem as easily as instantiating a set of smart contracts, once the connection is approved by on-chain governance. 
• Universal compatibility: Amplifier plus Axelar's hub-and-spoke topology make it possible to connect all blockchains, bridging various programming languages and consensus mechanisms, ensuring broad adaptability.
• Powered by the AXL token: The Amplifier leverages Axelar’s native token AXL to incentivize Verifiers without network inflation, supporting secure and scalable connectivity across the entire Web3 ecosystem. This has replaced a previous inflation-based rewards model, and is aligned with a proposed mechanism that would send AXL transaction fees to a burn address (subject to on-chain governance vote).

In the effort to ensure security and maintain decentralized governance of the Axelar Network as new chains connect via the Interchain Amplifier, the Amplifier Advisory Committee has a critical role. This new committee serves as a resource for evaluating potential new chain integrations to the network, bringing together expert organizations to ensure the highest standards of security and technical excellence. Through a structured proposal and review process, the committee establishes a clear pathway for expanding the network while maintaining its integrity.

This blog post introduces the Advisory Committee and may include specific information about the Committee that is subject to change. Please refer to the Advisory Committee GitHub repo for specific and up-to-date details. 

What is the Amplifier Advisory Committee?

The Amplifier Advisory Committee is a newly formed entity that establishes a process for adding chains to the Axelar Network. Every new chain connection must go through a governance vote by the community of AXL token holders, and the Committee is responsible for reviewing the security and integrity of proposed new chain connections. The Committee is also responsible for providing insights and recommendations about that chain to the broader community of token holders ahead of the on-chain governance vote. In conclusion, it plays a key role in evaluating proposals, offering technical expertise and maintaining high standards of security. 

The Committee's ongoing responsibilities include reviewing proposals for new integrations, publishing reports with its findings, and monitoring the performance and security of integrated chains to ensure a secure and robust ecosystem for the Axelar community.

At a high level, the chain proposal submission process involves submitting a detailed proposal by forking the provided template. Proposers then create a pull request with technical details, evaluation criteria and relevant documentation. Once the proposal is merged, proposers engage the community for discussion and feedback, updating the proposal as necessary. The Amplifier Advisory Committee will review the proposal and deliver a public report, which should be available before or simultaneously with the submission of a governance proposal. Please refer to the above link for specific instructions. 

To learn more about community proposals, visit Axelar Community Proposals. To learn more about participating in Axelar Network on-chain governance, read this tutorial, "How to Stake AXL."

The initial participating members are:

Common Prefix | https://www.commonprefix.com/

Common Prefix is a team of scientists and engineers researching and implementing blockchain protocols. They work using rigorous cryptographic techniques to design simple, provably secure protocols from first principles and guide their implementation. Their consulting and auditing pertain to theoretical cryptographic protocol analyses as well as the pragmatic auditing of implementations in both core consensus technologies and application layer smart contracts.

Eiger | https://www.eiger.co/

Eiger specializes in designing, building and deploying high-performance Web3 systems that integrate seamlessly with blockchain environments. Their services include blockchain and smart contract implementations, large infrastructure deployments, architecture renovations, and ecosystem tooling. They focus on scalability, security and reliability, working with clients to create optimized decentralized applications and blockchain solutions. Eiger supports Layer 1 and Layer 2 integrations, ensuring systems are cost-efficient and maintainable.

Ackee | https://ackee.xyz/

Ackee is trusted by top-tier organizations in Web3. Their mission is to contribute to a stronger blockchain ecosystem by providing security services, tooling and education.

Node.Monster | https://www.node.capital/#nodemonster

Node.Monster specializes in high-performance, scalable Node solutions and plays a key role as operators, validators, and DAO contributors across over 20 networks, including Ether.fi, Axelar and Stride. 

What is Interchain Amplifier?

The Interchain Amplifier is part of the Mobius Development Stack (MDS), which enables dynamic application-level connections of new blockchains and services to the Axelar Network. DApp developers gain access to more new blockchains faster. Integrators can use Amplifier to connect their own chains to the Axelar Network. This enables generalized connections between blockchains and is unopinionated to their underlying technology stacks (Solidity, Rust, etc.), consensus mechanisms and blockchains from many different communities.

Developers can then seamlessly build applications that take advantage of these chains and capabilities. Integrators gain access to Axelar’s interconnected network of chains and can "amplify" their resources by paying the cost equivalent to developing only one connection, instantiated at the smart-contract layer. They can establish connections between new ecosystems or existing chains to add new network properties, such as improved security or better delivery and availability.

A New Pathway for the Network

As the Axelar Network is set to expand drastically in 2025, the Amplifier Advisory Committee represents a commitment to robust security measures and workflows. By combining the expertise of respected organizations like Common Prefix, Eiger, Ackee and Node.Monster, the Committee creates a transparent and thorough evaluation framework that strengthens the network's foundations while paving the way for secure and sustainable growth in the multichain future.