Synapse Crypto Protocol V2 Explained

A new blockchain is coming, adding to the Synapse crypto offering. To understand why you should care about this new creation from Synapse Network, we must first define some of the technology involved. First, let’s talk about what the Synapse Protocol can do right now.

According to their website, Synapse crypto comprises an economically secure method to reach consensus on the validity of cross-chain transactions and a cross-chain messaging framework, enabling developers to build truly native cross-chain apps".

So, if the Synapse Protocol already does this, what more does it need? Well, apparently, the next step for them is to roll out the Synapse blockchain. Synapse released news that it deployed its own blockchain on 28 July.

This new blockchain is significant for developers who make cross-chain apps, and for crypto users who want to bridge their assets across chains, swap stablecoins on-chain, add to liquidity pools, and stake ETH to earn SYN.

The Synapse Protocol was ALREADY able to do all the above for users. However, with the rollout of Synapse V2 and its own blockchain, there is now a much deeper level of fundamental security to the entire Synapse crypto ecosystem. More on this later.

Now, the new blockchain by Synapse Protocol will be an optimistic rollup, reducing fees for customers using their services.

What is an optimistic rollup?

An "optimistic rollup", according to Ethereum.org, is a protocol designed to do a very important thing: reduce pressure on Ethereum by processing transactions off-chain and verifying them for fraud, then telling the network whether to accept the transaction.

It vastly improves processing speeds for users and makes things much more secure. Optimistic rollups publish transaction results on-chain, fully using Ethereum’s verification process, but store the transaction data elsewhere. This makes completing transactions much faster.

In simple terms, in an optimistic rollup, transactions are executed outside of Ethereum. What's more, the technology introduced by Synapse V2 will make transactions faster, cost less gas, and be more secure.

The Synapse Chain

The basics of the Synapse Chain are defined in three protocols that are the backbone of Synapse. They are as follows:

1. Generalized Cross-Chain Communication
2. Optimistic Security Model
3. Synapse Bridge

Generalized Cross-Chain Communication

Synapse developed a generalized message system that can send data across different blockchains securely and seamlessly. Now, developers can deploy their applications on a single blockchain and communicate with multiple other chains. This has resulted in Synapse building a tool that can provide the same user experience, but from one application layer. Essentially, Synapse's generic messaging is a massive leap for combining blockchains in a universal way.

Optimistic Verification

Synapse realizes one fact about the crypto and blockchain world: it will be multi-chain. There will be many, many blockchains, all doing different things, and all of them will need to somehow interact with one another to some degree. That's great for Synapse, who have developed excellent cross-chain infrastructure. So, what’s the problem?

Security. Many interoperability platforms which enable cross-chain communication do not have high security standards. This changes with optimistic verification, an important part of Synapse V2. In this way, during a bridge transaction, there is a small window of time in which off-chain actors verify the transaction. This makes the...

Synapse Bridge

Users can utilize Synapse Bridge to swap on-chain assets across more than 15 EVM and non-EVM blockchains. It supports both canonical token bridging and liquidity-based cross-chain bridging of assets.

The Synapse Bridge has processed almost $11 billion in total volume since inception and shows little signs of slowing down. It is also available to developers for use in integrating cross-chain apps.

There is a Synapse crypto token too. On 28 July, when Synapse released its V2 announcement, the price of Synapse crypto digital asset, SYN, spiked 32%!

The Synapse Chain is an optimistic rollup blockchain executed with Ethereum, but it is also much more. According to their website, Synapse V2 will feature "generalized cross-chain messaging (that) enables any arbitrary data to be sent across blockchains, expanding mass-market use cases of cross-chain infrastructure to NFTS, smart contract calls...".

This is a massive development that will allow the users of the Synapse cross-chain token bridge to expand the use of Synapse in a big way – and allow them to access much more with their tokens.

Synapse Protocol’s Impact

Cross-chain liquidity is something that is masterfully executed by Synapse. In less than one year, Synapse bridged $11 billion in volume with almost 1 million transactions. In its first year, it also served 150,000 users.

Synapse also partners with DeFi apps, allowing users to exchange assets between different blockchain games or infrastructures.