Hemi Network, a blockchain protocol, has come up with an innovative feature called “tunneling” to merge the blockchains of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) and address vulnerabilities in cross-chain bridges. This unique approach has been developed after extensive consultation and research by the Hemi Network team.
According to Jeff Garzik, the founder of Hemi Network and an early core developer of Bitcoin, the project considers Bitcoin and Ethereum as components of a larger supernetwork. Tunneling creates a distinct environment for both blockchains to coexist, differentiating it from traditional cross-chain bridges.
Max Sanchez, the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Hemi Labs, clarifies that tunneling is fundamentally different from cross-chain bridges. Their protocol allows the network to adopt the full security of Bitcoin to secure cross-chain interactions. The Hemi Virtual Machine (HVM) currently enables Bitcoin interoperability technology, with BitVM2 playing a significant role.
BitVM2, originally designed for efficient transaction processing without compromising the security of the original Bitcoin network, is now being utilized to build a secure Bitcoin tunneling system. Sanchez explains that this connectivity enables users to move Bitcoin and Ethereum assets into Hemi, providing highly secure Bitcoin-based asset tokenization to the Ethereum ecosystem.
In the meantime, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin assures the community that the network will address cross-layer-2 interoperability problems. Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) on the roadmap, such as EIP-3370, aim to introduce a new address standard for wallets and decentralized applications (dApps). Another proposal, EIP-7683, facilitates trade execution among different Ethereum layer-2 networks by creating a standard method. Buterin also comments on zero-knowledge and optimistic rollups, suggesting that cross-L2 interoperability problems will be resolved in the near future.
Overall, Hemi Network’s tunneling feature and Ethereum’s proposed improvements demonstrate the industry’s commitment to addressing vulnerabilities and enhancing interoperability within the blockchain ecosystem.