Project Name: Wormhole
Tag: $W
Type: Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol

Introduction

Wormhole is a universal messaging protocol that employs externally validated cross-chain bridge solutions to achieve AMB (Arbitrary Message Bridge), providing support for multi-chain applications and large-scale bridges.

Core Products

Messaging

An open-source decentralized messaging protocol that supports efficient transmission of cross-chain information and value. Utilizes Guardians Network, Cosmos IBC, and Polkadot XCM validation methods for delivery.

Queries

Cross-chain data retrieval and verification services that reduce latency and costs of cross-chain access through innovative “pull” mechanisms. Applied in DeFi for cross-chain price feeds, gaming asset cross-chain validation, and unified cross-chain digital identity solutions.

Connect

A cross-chain bridging tool that can be integrated into applications to achieve encapsulation and native asset bridging functionality. Cross-chain transfers only require gas fees to be paid on the source chain. Relayers facilitate the transfer of users’ native gas tokens to the target chain for instant transactions.

Gateway

A blockchain supported by Cosmos SDK, leveraging the flexibility of Cosmos SDK and CosmWasm. Enables IBC native token bridging via the ICS-20 standard without additional bridging fees, ensuring asset interoperability.

Implementation Principle

The overall architecture consists of on-chain and off-chain components.
On-chain components primarily include the Emitter, Wormhole core contracts, and transaction logs. The Emitter contains smart contracts such as the xAsset contract (which converts regular tokens into xAssets and bridges them) and the Relay contract (allowing cross-chain applications to send messages to specific blockchain smart contracts via a decentralized universal cross-chain relay network). The core contracts interact with off-chain components and are responsible for message validation and confirmation. Transaction logs are specific logs on the blockchain that allow off-chain components to observe messages issued by the core components.

Off-chain components mainly consist of Guardian nodes and message transmission networks. Guardian nodes, consisting of 19 guardians, hold Verifiable Action Approvals (VAA) multi-signatures and run a full node on each connected chain, specifically monitoring any messages from the core contracts. Once two-thirds or more of the guardians validate and sign a message, the verified message is relayed to the target chain, where it is processed and completes the cross-chain transaction.

Ecosystem

As a cross-chain communication infrastructure, Wormhole has established an ecosystem consisting of numerous partners, projects, and funding programs. It is mainly divided into three parts: Guardians, connected public chain partners, and other partners. The core organizational structure of Wormhole is based on the Proof of Authority (PoA) mechanism, composed of a group of trusted entities called Guardians. Guardians are well-known entities with capital and reputation endorsements. As of now, Wormhole supports the transmission of arbitrary messages between 30+ heterogeneous public chains, including Solana, Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base, among others. The ecosystem also includes various applications built on Wormhole and projects that engage in cross-chain governance through Wormhole (e.g., Uniswap, Lido).

Key Metrics

Tokenomics

1. Total Token Supply: 10,000,000,000
2. Initial Token Circulation: 1,800,000,000
3. Token Allocation:
   • Guardian Nodes: 22%
   • Strategic Partners: 11.6%
   • Major Contributors: 12%
   • Community: 17%
   • Ecosystem: 31%
   • Foundation: 23.3%