Connected contracts represent a monumental shift forward in usability by allowing end users to couple any token with functionality located on any blockchain, all from one application experience. Moonbeam’s cross-chain connected contracts are powered by messages that are sent across chains, including Polkadot (via XCM, cross-consensus messaging) and Ethereum, Cosmos, and Avalanche (via cross-chain messaging systems such as Axelar and Wormhole). Apps built on Moonbeam are able to call any contract on any chain, anytime.
Cross-Chain Connected Contracts
The Next Generation of Decentralized Applications
Build Apps That Unify Functionality Across Chains
Derek Yoo explains new connected contract use cases
Explore Your Use Case
Get in touch with the ecosystem team to see if connected contracts make sense for your application.
Build Cross-Chain Connected Applications on Moonbeam
Access Users, Assets, and Services Across Any Existing Blockchain
Moonbeam has pioneered cross-chain connected applications, providing users with unified access to functionality from blockchains like Ethereum, Cosmos, Avalanche, and Polkadot from a single instance of an application. The Moonbeam smart contract platform makes this kind of experience possible through its cross-chain interoperability with many blockchains, excellent development environment with unmatched tool support, and modern proof-of-stake architecture built on Substrate.
Moonbeam brings together multiple cross-chain messaging protocols into a single developer platform, making it a hub for developers who seek to disrupt the paradigm of siloed, multi-instance applications and redefine the way their users access decentralized services and resources.
Access Functionality Across Many Remote Blockchains
Design applications with extensive interoperability to interact with smart contracts on other chains via messaging passing protocols like Wormhole, Axelar, LayerZero, Hyperlane, and XCM (intra-Polkadot communications).
Build in the Ideal Development Environment
Leverage Moonbeam’s unmatched Ethereum compatibility (including wallets and accounts) and integrations with top developer tools including Etherscan, Gnosis multisig implementation, The Graph, Chainlink, and multiple VRF solutions.
Securely Scale with a Modern Substrate Architecture
Access specialized resources across Polkadot while enjoying the benefits of shared security/finality, forkless upgrades, and other extensibility features.
Cross-Chain Connected Applications
Unlock Novel Design Possibilities
By combining the best functionality from any remote blockchain, connected applications are breaking the assumption that tokens, NFTs, and functionality must be local to the smart contract logic that is acting on them. This shift allows the delivery of new use cases that were previously unattainable. Assets can now be transferred from one network to another, data may be read from other chains and, new actions can now take place on remote chains.
Supported Messaging Protocols
Who's Building Connected Contracts
Connections to Remote Chains
Lido Liquid Staking
Lido is the largest liquid staking protocol by TVL, dominating with their stETH product. As part of Lido’s multi-chain expansion, the Lido DAO wanted to create stDOT on Polkadot. The project was able to deploy connected contracts on Moonbeam and use its unique XCM Transactor functionality to send messages that control staking operations on the Polkadot Relay Chain, which does not have smart contract functionality. Connected contracts enabled them to impact functions on Polkadot with no additional security assumptions beyond the underlying chain itself.
Prime Lending and Borrowing
Prime Protocol is implementing a series of smart contracts that enable cross-chain lending and borrowing. A connected contract on Moonbeam acts a central hub and is connected to satellite contract deployments on a number of other chains — like Avalanche, Polygon, Ethereum, and more — via Axelar-based general messages. For example, when a user deposits AVAX on Avalanche into the Prime contract there, a general message is created and sent back to the accounting hub on Moonbeam via Axelar, giving Moonbeam full visibility into Prime’s supported chains.
Osmosis Decentralized Exchange
Osmosis is a user experience focused decentralized exchange (DEX) in the Cosmos ecosystem that has formed a connection to Polkadot through the Moonbeam Network. Since traditional bridging of assets can often be risky and complicated. Osmosis uses Axelar to standardize bridging outside assets into Osmosis. For DOT, their connected contracts use a combination of Axelar and Moonbeam that leverages both Moonbeam’s cross-chain messaging (XCM) capabilities on Polkadot, and Axelar’s cross-chain general message passing functionality.
Centrifuge Connectors
Centrifuge is a protocol on Polkadot that creates tokens that represent real-world assets (RWAs) such as royalty payment streams, real estate, and more, which can be used in DeFi. Through Moonbeam’s XCM and cross-chain connections, RWAs can be minted on Centrifuge and then be transferred to Moonbeam via XCM. Once on Moonbeam, they can be used in DeFi protocols such as DEXes and lending and borrowing protocols or transferred out to major remote chains like Avalanche and Ethereum.
Uniswap Automated Market Maker
Uniswap, the pioneer and leading DEX and AMM on Ethereum, is using connected contracts to create a single governance domain based on UNI holders with Uniswap v3. The latest version of Uniswap (version 3) has advanced features that allow liquidity providers to specify ranges over which they will provide liquidity, among other features. In this new configuration, holders can vote on Uniswap MainNet to drive changes on any of the deployment instances within the Uniswap v3 protocol.
XC-20 Tokens
The XC-20 tokens are designed as an interoperable token standard that allows tokens to both move freely within the Polkadot and other ecosystems but also allows DApps in the Moonbeam EVM to use these tokens as if they were regular ERC-20s. This allows them to connect the EVM with Substrate fungible assets. This capability allows existing Moonbeam DApps to interact and communicate without the need to implement or do anything special to support assets like DOT since it will automatically appear as an ERC-20.
Connections to Substrate-Based Chains
Tutorials & Educational Materials
Learn More About Connected Contracts
Discover the depths of connected contracts, messaging passing, and more.
1
What are XC-20s?
Moonbeam has pioneered a new cross-chain asset class called XC-20. Learn what it is, why it’s cool, and how to use XC-20s yourself!
View Article2
What is XCM? A No-Nonsense Explanation
XCM represents a huge step forward in cross-chain communications. This article will take you through the highlights of what XCM is, and how it’s likely to impact your experience on blockchain-based apps for years to come.
View Article3
What Are Cross-Chain Connected Contracts?
Learn how connected contracts make DApps easier to use by allowing end users to couple any token with functionality located on any blockchain, all in the context of a single application user experience.
View Article4
Building with Cross-Chain Assets & XC-20s
Learn about cross-chain assets, referred to as XC-20s, and how to interact with them through the Ethereum API on Moonbeam.
View Article5
Remote Execution Through XCM
How to do remote XCM calls in other chains using the XCM-Transactor pallet which enables access to core functions via the Ethereum API.
View Tutorial6
Cross-Chain Connected Contracts with Axelar
Dive into Axelar’s general message passing, which allows developers to build cross-chain connected applications on Moonbeam.
View Article7
Cross-Chain Connected Contracts with Wormhole
Learn how to use Wormhole’s Relayer Engine to communicate with non-EVM chains like Solana, NEAR, and Algorand.
View Article8
Cross-Chain Connected Contracts with LayerZero
Learn how to use LayerZero, which is a lightweight interoperability protocol for cross-chain message passing. Design cross-chain messages that enhance the user experience for your DApp!
View Article8
Cross-Chain Connected Contracts with Hyperlane
Hyperlane makes it possible to create multichain DApps that are unified interfaces for protocols duplicated across multiple EVMs. Dive into this tutorial to learn how to create a connected contract with Hyperlane.
View Article9
XCM Technical Overview
An overview of how cross-consensus messaging (XCM) works, and how developers can leverage Polkadot/Kusama XCM to transfer assets to and from Moonbeam.
View Article10
Designing Multichain-Aware DApps
Not sure where to start? This overview takes you through best practices when it comes to designing applications that can be used across multiple blockchains.
View Article11
Using Axelar’s SDK for Connected Contracts
This blog introduces the JavaScript SDK that Axelar packed with tools to aid developers in building cross-chain connected applications on Moonbeam that tap into other major blockchains.
View ArticleWork with the Ecosystem Team
Get in touch to explore your connected contracts use case.
