The Cross-Chain Revolution

• Guest: Simon Harman, CEO & Co-Founder of Chainflip
• Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest

1. Chainflip is a fully native cross-chain DEX.

At the start of the interview, Simon explained that Chainflip functions as a swap solution rather than a bridge. It adopts a similar approach to centralized exchanges, with its distinctive feature being the involvement of 150 independent validators distributed globally within the vault. This design choice ensures a high degree of decentralization for the swap process. The architecture of Chainflip also addresses the issue of elevated gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain. While it doesn't directly decrease these fees, users of Chainflip are exempt from paying gas fees for the actual swap. Their only financial commitment lies in the transaction fee incurred when transferring funds from their wallet to Chainflip's vault in preparation for the swap. In essence, Chainflip goes beyond a mere bridge and can be better described as a "fully native cross-chain DEX."


2. User-friendliness and simplified onboarding will accelerate DEX onboarding.

We asked Simon how decentralized exchanges (DEX) can get more market share. He shared that DEXs are becoming more user-friendly lately, while CEXs are becoming a bigger hassle to set up with increased KYC and verification processes. Nevertheless, he doesn’t think DEXs will completely take over, as buying crypto with Fiat is only possible using a CEX. On the other hand, crypto-to-crypto swaps will predominantly be processed on DEXs. Simon gives the example of Uniswap, which improves its interface and simplifies the user experience for new members. Efforts, as such,  might accelerate the rate at which people switch from CEX to DEX in the future.


3. Comprehensive market scans help Chainflip select prime chains for their ecosystem.

Finally, Simon explained that the team is constantly scanning the market. This helps them choose which new chains to add to their ecosystem. The main goal is to ensure they can save money for users. Implementing a chain on Chainflips ecosystem only makes sense if they can offer the users a way to save on gas fees or better prices. For example, implementing Phantom wouldn’t make sense as the on-chain liquidity is not big enough. However, they believe Chainflip will significantly impact the Solana network with prices and gas fees; therefore, that is where most of the focus goes.