Cardano-Ethereum USDC bridge is now live on Milkomeda

[TL: DR]

Iagon has launched a token bridge between Cardano and Ethereum.
Iagon earlier moved from Ethereum to Cardano.
USDC becomes the first ERC20 project to join Iagon.
Transaction fees will be processed in Milkomeda's base asset.
Smart Contract capability through Alonzo Hard fork implementation.
A new Cardano hard fork which allows Vertical and Horizontal Scaling in Layer (VASIL) will be released and publicly tested in June.

Keywords: Cardano, Ethereum, USDC, Interoperability, Layer 2.



Ethereum-Cardano Cross-chain bridge

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On May 25, 2022, Iagon, a decentralized cloud computing network, announced the launch of its cross-chain token bridge between Ethereum and Cardano built on Milkomeda C1. The bridge uses solutions provided by Milkomeda, a layer 2 protocol and Nomad protocol.


Iagon Token Bridge, a token converter designed for unwrapping and wrapping Iagon's native asset (IAG) tokens on the Ethereum and Cardano blockchains, was released in beta.


The move of Iagon from the Ethereum blockchain to the Cardano blockchain necessitated the creation of this cross-chain bridge. Only USDC and Iagon's native token IAG are presently supported, while support for more ERC-20 tokens may be introduced in the future.


A cross-chain bridge allows information, money, or NFTs to travel from one blockchain network to another, allowing for the data flow that would otherwise be segregated on various blockchains. Cross-chain bridges also facilitate transporting smart contracts from the Ethereum mainnet to different blockchain networks, one of their most prevalent features.

Before the bridge's May launch, Iagon revealed in late April on its official blog in a piece titled "Bridging the Gap" that holders of ERC20 IAG tokens would be able to convert them to CNT IAG tokens using the bridge. In that article, the Iagon team also hinted that they intend to include support for other ERC20 projects if they add their tokens to Iagon's platform.


With the addition of USDC to the bridge, it became the first ERC20 project to accept Iagon's offer. USDC is currently the second-largest USD stablecoin by market capitalization, with over USD 53 billion in circulation, and CoinMarketCap ranks it as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency.


How to access the bridge

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Users can access the bridge by connecting their EVM wallet (MetaMask) to the Milkomeda C1 sidechain. MilkADA, the Milkomeda C1 sidechain's base asset, will be used to pay transaction fees.

Users who do not already own milkADA can purchase it directly on the bridge by connecting their Cardano wallet (NAMI wallet or FLINT wallet) and sending 5 ADA from their Cardano wallet to the provided Milkomeda C1 address (covering transaction cost) to exchange them for four milkADA, which is the minimum required to process transactions. Only one milkADA is consumed during the transaction process, while the remaining milkADA will be stored in the EVM wallet. Once the transaction is completed, the USDC tokens become a Cardano native asset that, like any other native asset, can be used to perform a variety of functions on the Cardano blockchain.


Cardano continues to improve

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In its ongoing scaling efforts, the Cardano protocol launched the Alonzo hard fork last September, which added smart contract capabilities and opened doors to Cardano's native dApps and other features. The network is now planning to release another hard fork (VASIL) which will be tested publicly in June. The VASIL hard fork will be a significant step forward in Cardano's scaling efforts to enable vertical and horizontal scaling in layers (VASIL).

Cardano's native cryptocurrency, ADA, is currently ranked sixth by CoinMarketCap, with 75.41 percent of its maximum supply in circulation. Cardano is currently trading at $0.629, representing a 17.62 percent increase in the last 24 hours.


Conclusion

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Cardano, which debuted in 2017, is billed as a third-generation blockchain, following Bitcoin and Ethereum, the first- and second-generation blockchains. Cardano intends to compete directly with Ethereum and other decentralized application platforms, claiming to be a more scalable, secure, and efficient alternative.






Author: Gate.io Observer: M. Olatunji
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