As the blockchain industry enters the multi-chain era, the interconnection and integration of data have become key to whether various decentralized applications can break through limitations and achieve scalable applications. The closed ecosystem of a single chain can no longer meet the needs of developers and users. The emergence of cross-chain data reading (Cross-Chain Reads) is gradually becoming an inevitable trend to solve this core problem.
In the increasingly complex multi-chain system, data is often isolated within their respective networks, forming "information islands." A DeFi application must integrate liquidity from different chains in real-time to provide users with the best trading prices; a governance protocol must verify the validity of votes from different chains during voting to make fair decisions; and a wallet application must display the complete balance and asset situation of users in a multi-chain environment in one operation to enhance user experience. Cross-chain reading addresses these cross-ecosystem essential needs.
If we compare each chain to an independent city, then cross-chain reading is akin to building high-speed railways between these cities. It allows information to flow quickly, eliminates barriers, and enables applications and users to enjoy more efficient and comprehensive services.
So, how does this technology actually work?
The process of cross-chain reading is not complicated, but the underlying mechanism is quite sophisticated. The process can be roughly divided into the following steps:
Step 1: A smart contract on one chain sends a data request, hoping to query data from other chains.
Step 2: The request is validated by the CCIP Read ISM module and transmitted through Hyperlane's message relayer.
Step 3: Hyperlane connects to the nodes of the target chain, extracts, and integrates the required data.
Step 4: The result is returned to the contract that initiated the request, enabling cross-chain data calls.
For developers, this mechanism lowers the technical threshold. By using standardized interfaces, they can easily send query requests to multiple chains without needing to configure complex logic for each chain individually. Moreover, all data is verified before transmission, ensuring the safety and reliability of the results.
The potential application scenarios for cross-chain reading are extremely vast. When users perform arbitrage on the chain, it can real-time aggregate cross-chain liquidity; when governance protocols conduct vote counting, it can summarize votes from all chains at once; when NFT markets or games need to verify asset ownership, it can immediately confirm possession across chains. It can be seen that this is not just a tool but also the underlying driving force for a leap in the entire Web3 application experience.
From a third-party perspective, Cross-Chain Reads not only provide developers with efficient and convenient infrastructure but also offer users a smooth and consistent experience when using decentralized applications. In the future, as the multi-chain ecosystem continues to thrive, cross-chain data reading will no longer be an "added value feature," but will become a fundamental capability for every contract and DApp.
If you are looking for a revolutionary solution that can break the data islands between chains, then Cross-Chain Reads is undoubtedly a direction worth focusing on. It not only solves the current cross-chain communication issues but also paves the way for the explosion of future decentralized applications.
