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Cross-chain interoperability among blockchain-based systems using transactions

Part of: Distributed Ledger Technologies: Papers Arising from Three Australian Symposia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2020

Babu Pillai Open the ORCID record for Babu Pillai [Opens in a new window] ,
Kamanashis Biswas Open the ORCID record for Kamanashis Biswas [Opens in a new window]  and
Vallipuram Muthukkumarasamy
Babu Pillai
Affiliation:
Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia
Kamanashis Biswas
Affiliation:
Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia Australian Catholic University, Sydney, Australia e-mails: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Vallipuram Muthukkumarasamy
Affiliation:
Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia
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Abstract

The blockchain is an emerging technology which has the potential to improve many information systems. In this regard, the applications and the platform they are built on must be able to connect and communicate with each other. However, the current blockchain platforms have several limitations, such as lack of interoperability among different systems. The existing platforms of blockchain applications operate only within their own networks. Even though the underlying technology is similar, it relies on centralized third-party mediators to exchange or retrieve information from other blockchain networks. The current third-party intermediaries establish trust and security by preserving a centralized ledger to track ‘account balances’ and vouch for a transaction’s authenticity. The inability for independent blockchains to communicate with one another is an inherent problem in the decentralized systems. Lack of appropriate inter-blockchain communication puts a strain on the mainstream adoption of blockchain. It is evident that blockchain technology has the potential to become a suitable solution for some systems if it can scale and is able to cross communicate with other systems. For the multisystem blockchain concept to become a reality, a mechanism is required that would connect and communicate with multiple entities’ blockchain systems in a distributed fashion (without any intermediary), while maintaining the property of trust and integrity built by individual blockchains. In this article, we propose a mechanism that provides cross-chain interoperability using transactions.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Knowledge Engineering Review , Volume 35 , 2020 , e23
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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