Interoperability

Interoperability is the ability of separate blockchains and applications to exchange assets and data in a usable way, instead of each network operating as an isolated silo. It spans several layers: token standards that let any wallet display an asset, messaging protocols that relay verified state between chains, shared settlement layers used by rollups, and account systems that work across networks. Better interoperability reduces the friction of holding assets in the wrong place, but it also widens the attack surface, because a message-passing layer inherits the security of its weakest validator set or relayer. When assessing an interoperability solution, the useful question is who or what you are trusting to attest that the event on the other chain really happened.