Ionize Bridge is a cross-chain solution focused on complementing, connecting, and enhancing the global blockchain ecosystem with a core focus on Stellar.

Our proof of concept will enable users to send native ERC20 USDT and receive native Stellar USDC and vice versa. There are no wrapped tokens, and this system will be secure, decentralized, near-instant, low-fee, and trustless.

We will then expand the Ionize Bridge to cover all stable assets with significant supply, and that’s just the beginning. Ionize is a modular and extensible protocol and network, with the cross-chain stable asset system as the first module released.

The longer-term goal is to connect Stellar's exceptional real-world utility and Soroban's scalability and technical excellence to other ecosystems, minimizing barriers for developers and users to move assets and utilize complementary projects.

To put this statement into context, here are a few example modules we would look to develop in the future:

Storage: Enable Stellar XLM/USDC to be used by developers and users to pay for decentralized file storage via chains like Filecoin. A data storage module would have hundreds of uses, including dApps built on Soroban covering notarization to supply chain logistics.

Cross-chain dApps: Make Soroban dApps more accessible by allowing users to transact using assets from other chains; this lowers friction and onboarding barriers and allows existing blockchain users to easily experience the benefits of Stellar & Soroban from their first touchpoint.

Cross-chain Transactions: Alice sends ERC20 USDT, and Bob receives Stellar USDC. Use cases include C2C, B2C, microtransactions, dapp-to-dapp transactions, etc.

So, how does this work?

Ionize is a decentralized network of validators, each running nodes for each supported chain (Horizon + Captive core for Stellar, Geth for Ethereum, and so on).

These nodes also jointly hold balances across all supported chains; we call this the vault. The vault is a multisig wallet, though, in a technical sense, it's somewhat different than the traditional multisig you might be familiar with as we use threshold signatures.

The nodes then also run the core Ionize service, which handles all the main aspects of the system, including spin-up, peer finding, consensus, vault creation & migration, node churn handling, etc.

For those familiar, this is analogous to Tendermint or CometBFT and is Byzantine Fault Tolerant. Thus, it would take control of more than 1/3rd of the network to create a halt and over 2/3rds to attack it. We take security very seriously and incorporate it into all aspects of our system design.

Finally, the nodes run modules that cover the actual feature set of Ionize, with the first module powering our cross-chain stable asset bridge.

Through this, a user can send ERC20 USDT to the Ionize network deposit address with a memo of a target Stellar address, and the Ionize network will then reach a consensus on signing an outbound Stellar USDC transaction. This bridging rail also works in the other direction.

That’s a relatively simple overview that briefly covers some of this system's many moving and complex parts; below are a few more critical points for the first iterations.

Activation Award POC: Our proof of concept will be a single-validator service with shallow transaction limits and will not be a production release. We will provide public front-ends for testing our solution with small amounts of real assets and a fully open-source codebase, allowing developers to deploy an instance for testing. We will also provide a complete end-to-end demonstration video.

Validators: As mentioned, the POC will have a singular validator. Following a community award, we will extend this to a whitelisted validator set of established authorities within the Stellar ecosystem. At a later stage, the validator process will be fully open, allowing anyone with sufficient assets and technical expertise to run a validator.

Liquidity: Validators will supply the Initial liquidity. A future iteration will enable public liquidity and yield release alongside automatic liquidity balance through arbitrage from an economic pendulum.

Price Movement: Ionize validators will constantly monitor multiple price sources and freeze any relevant pairs where a stable asset diverges from its peg.

Security: We take this very seriously, and Ionize will have low transaction limits and only allow approved partners to provide limited liquidity until we have undergone a security audit.

Speed & Fees: Transaction speed is near-instant but capped to the confirmation times of the chains involved in the pair; Stellar is essentially instant, but finality on Ethereum may take up to 5 minutes. Fees will be minimal, covering any gas necessary plus a minor amount of slippage (~0.2%).

CCTP: When the Circle Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol expands to cover Stellar, we intend to offer all routes via this mechanism while maintaining the existing system for non-usdc routes such as USDT<>USDC.

Existing Bridges: The Ionize bridging module does have some overlap with existing bridges, but as you can see above, our approach is novel and differentiated. Ionize focuses on the utility around those bridges alongside further modular applications that enhance the ecosystem.

Stellar has always prioritized financial interoperability, access, and utility. At Ionize, we’re excited to play our small part in complementing, enabling, and enhancing that value to connect blockchain and the real world further.

Thank you for reading; we look forward to your feedback. We’re also always open to any questions, partnership discussions, or other queries. You can contact us directly or tag us in the Stellar Developer Discord using the details in the Team Bio below.