The Ethereum ecosystem may soon transition from the chaotic phase of L2 "Warring States" to a unified era.
The key lies in the ongoing ERC-7786, which attempts to establish a universal "interface specification" for cross-chain communication on Ethereum, thus integrating various messaging standards under a unified API to enable communication between smart contracts of different blockchain networks within the Ethereum ecosystem.
As early as April 15, joshrudolf.eth, a member of the Ethereum Foundation, publicly emphasized that "cross-chain messaging is one of the key elements in solving the cross-chain user experience issues of Ethereum."
So what exactly is ERC-7786, what problem does it aim to solve, and why is it important? This article will help you understand this new standard that deserves the attention of all Ethereum users.
Ethereum needs a unified cross-chain communication protocol
As we all know, from the initial multi-chain concept of Cosmos and Polkadot to the prosperity of Rollup in the Ethereum L2 era, especially with the significant development of application chains such as OP Stack, Arbitrum Nova, and Starknet, liquidity has become increasingly decentralized across Ethereum and L2.
According to incomplete statistics from L2BEAT, there are actually hundreds of Ethereum L2s in a broad sense, which gives rise to an age-old issue - the extreme fragmentation of liquidity.
It's important to know that even though they are all based on the Ethereum ecosystem, different L2s do not communicate with each other. If users want to transfer assets from Arbitrum to Starknet, or interact with contracts across different L2s, they can only do so by using cross-chain bridges or cross-chain messaging protocols to achieve secure interactions between contracts, users, and assets across multiple networks.
Source: L2BEAT
This not only makes users pay more friction costs every year due to cross-chain obstacles, but more importantly, the Ethereum ecosystem, especially the synergy between L2s, is also seriously weakened, and although many protocols have implemented inter-chain communication functions, each protocol has its own interface, call mode and security model, and developers can hardly reuse code or interface logic between different protocols, which directly leads to repeated "wheel-making" and high operation and maintenance costs, and the user experience is extremely fragmented.
Therefore, the proposal of ERC-7786 is precisely to break this fragmented and divided ecosystem, providing a unified standard interface for all inter-chain communication protocols, allowing DApps to securely communicate with any chain through the same "gateway," without being bound to a specific protocol:
The standard is led by OpenZeppelin and supported by multiple cross-chain and modular projects including the Ethereum Foundation and Axelar. As a unified cross-chain messaging interface standard aimed at DApps, it is designed to standardize a common interface for securely sending and receiving messages across multiple blockchains for decentralized applications (DApps).
Source: erc7786.org
ERC-7786: Cross-chain Communication "Unified Interface"
If I had to summarize ERC-7786 in one sentence, it is like the "ERC-20" of cross-chain communication.
Just as ERC-20 provides a standard interface for tokens and ERC-721 defines a common specification for NFTs, ERC-7786 also attempts to establish a unified and general "communication interface" for cross-chain messaging—you can liken it to the "USB standard" in the Web3 world, where any protocol can be plug-and-play as long as it connects to the standard interface.
The diagram below presents the core components and processes of ERC-7786, demonstrating how to send and receive messages between different blockchains through standardized interfaces. An ERC-7786 message includes four basic elements:
Sender: Identified in CAIP-10 format (e.g., eip155:1:0xabc...)
Receiver: Also the CAIP-10 identifier target address
Payload: Arbitrary execution data (bytes)
Attributes: Additional parameters, such as Gas limit, processing priority, etc., expressed in function signature format (e.g., minGasLimit(uint256))
Source: erc7786.org
Among them, sendMessage() is used for chain A to initiate messages, and executeMessage() is used for chain B to receive and execute, which constitutes the basic logic of cross-chain communication and also makes DApps It only needs to encapsulate the standard interface at one time, and it can be compatible with multiple cross-chain protocol modules at the same time, realizing the true sense of "protocol decoupling + communication freedom". **
Currently, ERC-7786 has also announced that its interface functions are complete and is waiting for the final merge of the binary interoperability address specification (i.e., unified address encoding). In the future, there are plans to add a "Gas Sponsorship" extension, allowing third parties to prepay Gas when users execute transactions on the target chain, thereby optimizing the user experience of cross-chain interactions.
More importantly, the design of ERC-7786 supports modular adaptation, allowing developers to build Adapters for existing mainstream cross-chain protocols (such as Axelar, LayerZero, Wormhole, etc.) without the need to restructure logic, thereby quickly achieving compatibility with the ERC-7786 standard interface.
This means that even if users, liquidity, and applications are distributed across multiple L2 or heterogeneous chains, DApps can leverage the native cross-chain calling capabilities built with ERC-7786 without being tied to specific bridge protocols or relying on cumbersome UI switching, greatly enhancing the overall experience and reducing integration complexity.
It is worth mentioning that the attribute mechanism of ERC-7786 also allows for the integration of extended functionalities from different cross-chain protocols, such as verification logic, state proofs, and limit controls, without affecting the standard main process, which leaves a highly flexible interface space for the evolution of middleware and verification mechanisms.
From this perspective, the significance of ERC-7786 goes beyond "compatibility with multiple cross-chain protocols," representing that the Web3 multi-chain architecture is moving from "cross-chain deployment" to a new era of "native interoperability."
What can ERC-7786 bring?
For this reason, ERC-7786 is widely regarded as an important infrastructure for promoting higher interoperability in the Ethereum and multi-chain ecosystem. It not only bridges long-standing protocol barriers but also lays the foundation for unified standards for future cross-chain functionality expansion, verification mechanism upgrades, and multi-chain coordination.
From a practical implementation perspective, the value brought by ERC-7786 can be summarized into two main beneficiaries - developers and end users:
For developers, it only needs to be developed once for multi-chain deployment, without the need to repeatedly adapt to different protocols, and can switch cross-chain backends at any time, enhancing security and maintainability, while also supporting more customizable attributes and function extensions (such as Gas, state verification, etc.);
For users, there is no longer a need to switch back and forth between the bridges and UIs of Arbitrum and zkSync; a simple click to confirm will complete the cross-chain operation. Perceptually, the boundaries between chains are becoming blurred, making it feel as natural as using a single chain;
Currently, ERC-7786 is continuously advancing ecological implementation. According to publicly disclosed information, in the next 3 to 6 months, ERC-7786 will successively release standard adapters for mainstream protocols, promoting more DApps, bridges, and validation middleware to integrate this standard, forming a truly meaningful Web3 cross-chain infrastructure.
It is worth mentioning that on June 13, Axelar developer Interop Labs and OpenZeppelin jointly launched the open-source framework OpenBridge based on ERC-7786, which will allow developers to connect to multiple bridge protocols at once, thereby further enhancing construction efficiency and protocol redundancy, making it easier for developers to interface with multiple interoperability protocols at a time.
Source: Axelar
From a more macro perspective, the significance of ERC-7786 goes far beyond the specification of technical interfaces; it is more like opening up an "ordered interconnection path" for the current chaotic landscape of the multi-chain ecosystem:
Blurring the boundaries of the "chain" within the pan-Ethereum ecosystem lays a crucial groundwork for the evolution of a true Web3 user experience.
Final Thoughts
Looking back at the development trajectory of Ethereum, from the composability of smart contracts to the rapid formation of modular infrastructure, and then to the trends of L2 generalization and dedicated chains, "cross-chain interoperability" has become a necessary condition for the next stage of explosion.
The significance of ERC-7786 lies not only in making cross-chain transactions more convenient, but also in its attempt to establish a unified standard for "multi-chain collaboration" at its core to combat "entropy increase". This can not only further promote the "unification" process of on-chain liquidity but also drive the multi-chain ecosystem towards maturity.
As for whether ERC-7786 can drive Ethereum to reach a critical point of transformation, continuous observation is still needed.
The content is for reference only, not a solicitation or offer. No investment, tax, or legal advice provided. See Disclaimer for more risks disclosure.
Understanding ERC-7786: Is the Ethereum ecosystem making a giant leap into a unified era?
The Ethereum ecosystem may soon transition from the chaotic phase of L2 "Warring States" to a unified era.
The key lies in the ongoing ERC-7786, which attempts to establish a universal "interface specification" for cross-chain communication on Ethereum, thus integrating various messaging standards under a unified API to enable communication between smart contracts of different blockchain networks within the Ethereum ecosystem.
As early as April 15, joshrudolf.eth, a member of the Ethereum Foundation, publicly emphasized that "cross-chain messaging is one of the key elements in solving the cross-chain user experience issues of Ethereum."
So what exactly is ERC-7786, what problem does it aim to solve, and why is it important? This article will help you understand this new standard that deserves the attention of all Ethereum users.
Ethereum needs a unified cross-chain communication protocol
As we all know, from the initial multi-chain concept of Cosmos and Polkadot to the prosperity of Rollup in the Ethereum L2 era, especially with the significant development of application chains such as OP Stack, Arbitrum Nova, and Starknet, liquidity has become increasingly decentralized across Ethereum and L2.
According to incomplete statistics from L2BEAT, there are actually hundreds of Ethereum L2s in a broad sense, which gives rise to an age-old issue - the extreme fragmentation of liquidity.
It's important to know that even though they are all based on the Ethereum ecosystem, different L2s do not communicate with each other. If users want to transfer assets from Arbitrum to Starknet, or interact with contracts across different L2s, they can only do so by using cross-chain bridges or cross-chain messaging protocols to achieve secure interactions between contracts, users, and assets across multiple networks.
Source: L2BEAT
This not only makes users pay more friction costs every year due to cross-chain obstacles, but more importantly, the Ethereum ecosystem, especially the synergy between L2s, is also seriously weakened, and although many protocols have implemented inter-chain communication functions, each protocol has its own interface, call mode and security model, and developers can hardly reuse code or interface logic between different protocols, which directly leads to repeated "wheel-making" and high operation and maintenance costs, and the user experience is extremely fragmented.
Therefore, the proposal of ERC-7786 is precisely to break this fragmented and divided ecosystem, providing a unified standard interface for all inter-chain communication protocols, allowing DApps to securely communicate with any chain through the same "gateway," without being bound to a specific protocol:
The standard is led by OpenZeppelin and supported by multiple cross-chain and modular projects including the Ethereum Foundation and Axelar. As a unified cross-chain messaging interface standard aimed at DApps, it is designed to standardize a common interface for securely sending and receiving messages across multiple blockchains for decentralized applications (DApps).
Source: erc7786.org
ERC-7786: Cross-chain Communication "Unified Interface"
If I had to summarize ERC-7786 in one sentence, it is like the "ERC-20" of cross-chain communication.
Just as ERC-20 provides a standard interface for tokens and ERC-721 defines a common specification for NFTs, ERC-7786 also attempts to establish a unified and general "communication interface" for cross-chain messaging—you can liken it to the "USB standard" in the Web3 world, where any protocol can be plug-and-play as long as it connects to the standard interface.
The diagram below presents the core components and processes of ERC-7786, demonstrating how to send and receive messages between different blockchains through standardized interfaces. An ERC-7786 message includes four basic elements:
Source: erc7786.org
Among them, sendMessage() is used for chain A to initiate messages, and executeMessage() is used for chain B to receive and execute, which constitutes the basic logic of cross-chain communication and also makes DApps It only needs to encapsulate the standard interface at one time, and it can be compatible with multiple cross-chain protocol modules at the same time, realizing the true sense of "protocol decoupling + communication freedom". **
Currently, ERC-7786 has also announced that its interface functions are complete and is waiting for the final merge of the binary interoperability address specification (i.e., unified address encoding). In the future, there are plans to add a "Gas Sponsorship" extension, allowing third parties to prepay Gas when users execute transactions on the target chain, thereby optimizing the user experience of cross-chain interactions.
More importantly, the design of ERC-7786 supports modular adaptation, allowing developers to build Adapters for existing mainstream cross-chain protocols (such as Axelar, LayerZero, Wormhole, etc.) without the need to restructure logic, thereby quickly achieving compatibility with the ERC-7786 standard interface.
This means that even if users, liquidity, and applications are distributed across multiple L2 or heterogeneous chains, DApps can leverage the native cross-chain calling capabilities built with ERC-7786 without being tied to specific bridge protocols or relying on cumbersome UI switching, greatly enhancing the overall experience and reducing integration complexity.
It is worth mentioning that the attribute mechanism of ERC-7786 also allows for the integration of extended functionalities from different cross-chain protocols, such as verification logic, state proofs, and limit controls, without affecting the standard main process, which leaves a highly flexible interface space for the evolution of middleware and verification mechanisms.
From this perspective, the significance of ERC-7786 goes beyond "compatibility with multiple cross-chain protocols," representing that the Web3 multi-chain architecture is moving from "cross-chain deployment" to a new era of "native interoperability."
What can ERC-7786 bring?
For this reason, ERC-7786 is widely regarded as an important infrastructure for promoting higher interoperability in the Ethereum and multi-chain ecosystem. It not only bridges long-standing protocol barriers but also lays the foundation for unified standards for future cross-chain functionality expansion, verification mechanism upgrades, and multi-chain coordination.
From a practical implementation perspective, the value brought by ERC-7786 can be summarized into two main beneficiaries - developers and end users:
Currently, ERC-7786 is continuously advancing ecological implementation. According to publicly disclosed information, in the next 3 to 6 months, ERC-7786 will successively release standard adapters for mainstream protocols, promoting more DApps, bridges, and validation middleware to integrate this standard, forming a truly meaningful Web3 cross-chain infrastructure.
It is worth mentioning that on June 13, Axelar developer Interop Labs and OpenZeppelin jointly launched the open-source framework OpenBridge based on ERC-7786, which will allow developers to connect to multiple bridge protocols at once, thereby further enhancing construction efficiency and protocol redundancy, making it easier for developers to interface with multiple interoperability protocols at a time.
Source: Axelar
From a more macro perspective, the significance of ERC-7786 goes far beyond the specification of technical interfaces; it is more like opening up an "ordered interconnection path" for the current chaotic landscape of the multi-chain ecosystem:
Blurring the boundaries of the "chain" within the pan-Ethereum ecosystem lays a crucial groundwork for the evolution of a true Web3 user experience.
Final Thoughts
Looking back at the development trajectory of Ethereum, from the composability of smart contracts to the rapid formation of modular infrastructure, and then to the trends of L2 generalization and dedicated chains, "cross-chain interoperability" has become a necessary condition for the next stage of explosion.
The significance of ERC-7786 lies not only in making cross-chain transactions more convenient, but also in its attempt to establish a unified standard for "multi-chain collaboration" at its core to combat "entropy increase". This can not only further promote the "unification" process of on-chain liquidity but also drive the multi-chain ecosystem towards maturity.
As for whether ERC-7786 can drive Ethereum to reach a critical point of transformation, continuous observation is still needed.