OpenZeppelin and Axelar Introduce OpenBridge, Composable Crosschain Security for Onchain Applications

BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OpenZeppelin, the most trusted provider of open source standards for building secure blockchain applications, and Interop Labs, the initial developer of Axelar, a leading web3 interoperability platform, announced today the launch of OpenBridge, an open source framework for developers to integrate multiple interoperability protocols in a single message. OpenBridge is built on the ERC-7786 crosschain messaging standard, recently endorsed by the Ethereum Foundation's Interoperability Working Group.

With OpenBridge, an application can combine multiple interoperability protocols in a single multichain transaction, requiring verification from some or all of them before the transaction is approved. This configuration, sometimes called x of y of n, can be used to enhance security for high-value transactions.

OpenZeppelin and Interop Labs announced OpenBridge ahead of ZuBerlin, an Ethereum developer conference that will gather industry leaders, founders, and researchers working on crosschain interoperability.

“This is about giving developers composability in cross-chain, without putting any proprietary code, externally owned accounts or venture-backed middlemen in between,” said Sergey Gorbunov, CEO of Interop Labs and co-founder of Axelar protocol. “Most importantly, OpenBridge is open source, just like the ERC-7786 standard it is built upon.”

ERC-7786 provides a standard application programming interface (API) for crosschain messaging, eliminating vendor lock-in by allowing developers to switch providers or expand coverage without rewriting application logic. It has been designed to integrate with any protocol or bridge (supporting ERC-7786 natively or through gateway adapters). At present, Axelar and Wormhole connections are enabled using adapters.

Working on a similar concept to a multi-signature wallet, OpenBridge sends messages through multiple ERC-7786-compliant bridges and requires multiple confirmations before delivery. For example, OpenBridge would enable a DeFi protocol to set an added layer of security for high-value loans, requiring 2-out-of-3 interoperability protocols to confirm collateral before issuing a crosschain loan.

“Our goal is to make secure multichain development as intuitive as developing for a single chain. By building OpenBridge on the ERC-7786 standard, we're giving developers a composable, open source framework that lets them easily utilize multiple bridges at once for maximum security and reliability, while also ensuring that any bridge can be added via an ERC-7786 adapter,” said Jonathan Alexander, CTO of OpenZeppelin.

Documentation, Solidity libraries, and reference implementations for ERC-7786 and OpenBridge are now available at erc7786.org.

About Axelar
Axelar is a decentralized network and development platform securely connecting the world’s blockchains and financial infrastructure. Its secure, programmable multichain product stack enables seamless interoperability across Web3—critical for the next wave of institutional-grade use cases. Learn more at axelar.network.

About Interop Labs
Interop Labs is a leading developer of blockchain interoperability technology, used by Web3 infrastructure protocols to support scaling the next generation of internet applications to billions of users. Interop Labs is the initial developer of Axelar network. Learn more at interoplabs.io.

About OpenZeppelin
Founded in 2015, OpenZeppelin is dedicated to accelerating and protecting the open economy through secure and reliable blockchain infrastructure. Our widely-used OpenZeppelin Contracts Library has secured over $25 Trillion in Total value transferred, and our open source infrastructure tools like Relayers and Monitorstreamline and safeguard onchain applications. Trusted by top projects globally, OpenZeppelin is your partner in building a safe and interoperable decentralized future. Learn more at: www.openzeppelin.com.