Survey on Progress of Blockchain Interoperability Technology

doi:10.3778/j.issn.1673-9418.2303119

Abstract

Abstract: Blockchain technology leads the development of a new generation of data storage technology due to its excellent features such as decentralization and high transparency. It has been widely used in social governance, finance and insurance, digital copyright and other fields in recent years. However, as a self-contained system based on standards and protocols, data communication between different blockchains cannot be realized directly, which makes it difficult to meet the data sharing needs of cross-domain applications, and blockchain interoperability technology comes into being. At present, there are few project examples of this technology analyzed. Based on the latest research of blockchain interoperability, this paper systematically summarizes the representative solutions of interoperability technology recently and prospects the future development directions. Firstly, the blockchain interoperability methods are classified into two types of homogeneous expansion and heterogeneous interoperability, according to the structural differences of each blockchain in communication. Secondly, this paper introduces two types of representative methods according to the technical development and blockchain hierarchy, sorts out the implementation principles and technical details of each method, and summarizes their advantages and disadvantages. Thirdly, this paper introduces the progress of currently implemented blockchain interoperability projects, focusing on their implementation ideas, operation modes and status quo, and their performance is compared and analyzed in terms of throughput, security and other indicators. Finally, this paper foresees the development trend of blockchain interoperability technology in various directions.

Key words: blockchain, interoperability, crosschain, blockchain ecosystem

摘要： 区块链技术因其去中心化、高透明度等优良特性引领了新一代数据存储技术的发展，近年来广泛应用于社会治理、金融保险、数字版权等领域。然而，作为一个基于规范和协议的自封闭系统，区块链不同链间无法直接实现数据通信，难以满足跨领域应用的数据共享需求，区块链互操作性技术应运而生。目前，该技术的项目实例分析较少。基于区块链互操作性最新研究成果，系统性总结了近年来互操作技术的代表性方案，并归纳展望了发展前景。首先，按照通信各链的结构差异，将区块链互操作方法划分成同构扩容和异构互操作两种类型；其次，按照技术发展脉络和区块链分层架构，分别介绍两种类型的代表性方法，分析比较了各方法的实现原理和技术细节，归纳总结它们的优缺点；再次，介绍了目前已经实施的区块链互操作性项目研发进展，重点介绍其实现思路、运营模式和现状，并在吞吐量、安全性等多个指标上对比分析其性能；最后，展望了区块链互操作性技术各方向的发展趋势。

关键词: 区块链, 互操作性, 跨链, 区块链生态系统

CHEN Xianyi, WANG Kang, DING Sizhe, FU Zhangjie. Survey on Progress of Blockchain Interoperability Technology[J]. Journal of Frontiers of Computer Science and Technology, 2024, 18(1): 75-92.

陈先意, 王康, 丁思哲, 付章杰. 区块链互操作性技术研究进展[J]. 计算机科学与探索, 2024, 18(1): 75-92.

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