ICON, Case Study
by Web3 Labs
ICON teams up with Web3 Labs to meet the final step of their original whitepaper’s mission - interoperability.
To achieve this, the ICON Network features a Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP), a unique cross-chain interoperability solution, secured entirely through its technical architecture. It does not require any form of trust, consensus, or game theory to operate in a decentralized fashion.
“ICON embraces the new and the unfamiliar, the principle of radical inclusion – accept new ideas and decisions made by the new republic established by ever-changing crypto-to-real world connections.”
Web3 Labs joined the Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP) Working Group to fulfill ICON’s ultimate vision of becoming a blockchain of blockchains — an elegant web of interconnected networks aggregating all blockchain data into one layer.
At a glance
- Website: icon.foundation
- Size: 51-200 employees
- Country: Zug, Switzerland
- Products and Services: Delivery Services
Founded in 2017 by the ICON Foundation, ICON is a next-generation blockchain protocol with smart contract functionality and interoperability. It is the largest and most well-known public blockchain project from South Korea with a vision of helping to hyperconnect the world, allowing businesses and communities to share their services in a transparent way and bringing global communities closer together.
Over the past 5 years, there has been an unprecedented number of new blockchain projects and technologies entering the space, all with their own capabilities and propositions. The ICON Project’s plan is to build a decentralized network allowing independent blockchains with different governance to transact with one another without intermediaries.
The Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP) is ICON’s interoperability solution that will bring their ultimate vision of becoming a blockchain of blockchains to fruition. The BTP (Blockchain Transmission Protocol) is a standard that renders heterogeneous blockchains interoperable, including blockchains that entail completely different consensus models and algorithms. These separate operating blockchains can securely anchor transactions through a universal standard as a trustless settlement layer.
“The BTP Working Group’s sole purpose is to fulfill ICON’s ultimate vision of becoming a blockchain of blockchains — an elegant web of interconnected networks aggregating all blockchain data into one layer.”
Customer Challenges
By the end of 2021, ICON’s goal was to grow the BTP Ecosystem larger than any other interoperability solution currently available on the market; not only in the number of blockchain integrations but also in the number of tangible use cases.
However, as the number of different public blockchain protocols continued to expand rapidly, the technical challenges associated with connecting as many of these blockchain protocols as possible became apparent.
In order to achieve the desired breadth of the BTP Ecosystem, ICON realized that they required significant expertise to help them realize their vision of integrating with more protocols than any other interoperability network.
The Solution
ICON approached Web3 Labs in 2020 to discuss their widespread network interoperability ambitions. The ICON team were impressed with Web3 Labs’ significant contributions to a number of different blockchain protocols and their developer library Web3j.
In April 2021, Web3 Labs joined the Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP) Working Group to facilitate the connection of the ICON Network to the Binance Smart Chain.
Customer Benefits
Web3 Labs’ deep expertise in blockchain networks, including leading implementation and providing the drive for the core protocol ensured that we were able to both facilitate the connection between these separate blockchain protocols and provide the tangible value that is at stake on these public blockchain networks.
The end result is that ICON has the ability to safely transfer tokens from one public blockchain network to another, which is non-trivial given how much value is at stake on these platforms, believe increasing business value and greater efficiency through decentralization.
Questions?
How Web3 Labs can help you
Web3 Labs is also the creator of the blockchain analytics platform Si̇rato, Blockchain Explorer, and the widely used blockchain developer library Web3j, which provides the tools for business applications and Android phones that allow them to work with the Ethereum blockchain. The library is used by companies like J.P. Morgan, Opera, and Samsung.
Web3 Labs works with organizations to deliver applications that improve the trust and authenticity of data and assets. Its clients include Microsoft, J.P. Morgan, and Vodafone.