Axelar announced that it had added BNB Chain to its list of connected chains this week. Taking BNB cross-chain securely is an important step toward interoperability for developers and users across Web3.

Because of Axelar's hub-and-spoke structure, the network effect of this new connection is distributed instantly across all other connected chains. What network effects? Consider the possibilities opened up by connecting BNB Chain to Axelar's secure Web3 overlay network:

• Integrated dApps can onboard $BNB users seamlessly.
• Developers on BNB Chain can compose functions across all of the decentralized web via Axelar network's easy-to-use API.
• Token holders can take BNB cross-chain, using and exchanging their BNB tokens in dApps and dexes on any network.

Axelar is enabling all this using the most secure cross-chain communication infrastructure possible: no more shaky pairwise bridges that begin with bad UX and end in lost funds. Axelar delivers cross-chain security using proof-of-stake validation, the battle-tested approach used by BNB Chain itself, and other Axelar-connected chains like Avalanche, Cosmos and (soon) Eth2.

Moreover, Axelar is an overlay network, similar to the CDNs that powered the growth of Web2. It takes cross-chain communication beyond bridges like Ethereum expanded on Bitcoin's vision: Turing-complete general message passing via permissionless protocols.

A simple API enables developers to build cross-chain dApps that connect users to any application, asset, or chain via 1-click experiences. Axelar is for Web3 what Stripe is for mobile and internet applications.

Here's another analogy: Axelar is equivalent to an air traffic control system in many ways. In other words, yes, you can transport goods and services using a car you buy or hire, gas you provide yourself, etc. This is equivalent to today's bridges. Axelar is a global system that is secure and efficient for your end users.

Developers use Axelar to go beyond bridges, creating dApps that deliver one-click experiences for users that span the decentralized web. It's far beyond taking a token like BNB cross-chain.

Axelar's list of connected chains is growing rapidly. We've built the technology to rapidly onboard new chains. Learn more & start building:

• Demo: Watch us connect a new EVM chain in under 10 minutes.
• See the full list of connected chains in our docs or on the Axelarscan block explorer.
• Take your BNB cross-chain yourself using the Satellite demo app.