Karel Kubat of Union (Sovereign Radio)

Summary

In this episode of Sovereign Radio, Carell Kubat, founder and CEO of Union, discusses the challenges of creating an L1 blockchain and the high barrier to entry in the interoperability space. Union aims to lower this barrier by focusing on message passing and security, rather than just token transfers. They offer a solution that allows for rapid integration with minimal security risks, envisioning a future where users interact seamlessly with multiple chains through a single application. Union operates as a standalone L1, serving as an IBC routing hub, and is fully compatible with the IBC protocol, promising a trustless and efficient cross-chain communication system.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Union aims to lower the barrier for engineers to build their own Layer 1 (L1) blockchains, offering better control and a cohesive user experience.
• 🌐 The challenge is the difficulty of achieving interoperability and moving away from established platforms like Solana or Ethereum to a custom state machine.
• 💬 Union focuses on message passing and security rather than just token transfers, aiming to facilitate a seamless cross-chain ecosystem.
• 🔄 Union envisions a world where multiple L1s and rollups interact, with subsecond block times, similar to traditional web services.
• 🔗 Union is positioned as a bridging solution, but with a core emphasis on message passing rather than token transfers, enhancing security and interoperability.
• 🌉 Union operates as a standalone L1, serving as a bridge hub and IBC routing center, connecting to various chains via the IBC protocol.
• 💼 Union's approach differs from other bridging projects by not requiring validators to run additional full nodes, thus scaling more efficiently.
• 🔐 Security is a priority; Union ensures that developers can integrate without needing to be trusted, addressing fundamental security concerns in a decentralized manner.
• 📈 Union is compatible with the IBC protocol, allowing it to connect with any IBC-enabled chain and facilitating broader interoperability.
• 🌟 Union's future includes support for the Move language and an expansion beyond the EVM ecosystem, indicating a strategic move towards wider blockchain integration.

Q & A

What is the main problem Union aims to solve?

Union aims to solve the high barrier to entry for engineers wanting to build their own L1 or rollup, which provides better control and a cohesive experience for end-users, but is currently very difficult due to the challenges of interoperability.

How does Union envision the future of blockchain with multiple L1s and rollups?

Union envisions a future where there is a mesh of microservices, or multiple L1s and rollups, communicating with each other, with block times being subsecond for each of these rollups.

What is the core focus of Union's team in terms of blockchain interaction?

The core focus of Union's team is on message passing and security, rather than just tokens, although they do support the IBC protocol for token transfers.

How does Union differentiate itself from other bridging projects?

Union differentiates itself by providing a standalone L1 that acts as a bridge hub for the IBC routing, allowing for easy integration without needing additional full nodes, and focusing on programmatic connections rather than social consensus.

What is the role of the Union chain in the ecosystem?

The Union chain acts as a heartbeat that resonates every 3 seconds, receiving proofs from different chains and sending out a single proof to all connected chains, serving as the security backbone for message passing and token transfers.

How does Union handle the scalability of block headers as more chains connect?

Union uses zero knowledge cryptography techniques to keep the block header size constant, regardless of the number of validators or connected chains, by using storage proofs instead of growing the block header size.

What is the process for an application developer to interact with Union?

Application developers interact with Union through smart contracts that interface with Union's system, registering their contracts to receive messages or tokens and specifying how much gas they're willing to spend for certain operations.

How does Union approach the concept of 'intent' in cross-chain transactions?

Union supports intent-based bridging by allowing users to state their desired end state with assets, and using Union to verify that the user received their funds quickly on the destination chain, enabling fast repayment to market makers.

What is Union's stance on incorporating IBC into other networks that weren't originally IBC enabled?

Union has decided to be fully IBC compatible, allowing for seamless integration with any IBC-native chains and using their expertise in consensus and storage proofs to facilitate this compatibility.

How does Union ensure security in its message passing system?

Union ensures security by using light clients on both sides of the connection, where each chain contains the Union Block header and the block header of each connected chain, providing a basis for secure message passing and token transfers.

What are Union's plans for future development and expansion?

Union plans to expand its support to include more chains, with a focus on the EVM ecosystem and EVM rollups, and is looking forward to supporting the move language and potentially other VMs in the future.