Chainlink CCIP - Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol

Blockchain interoperability protocols are important for the Web3 ecosystem and traditional systems that need to interact with different blockchains. These protocols are the foundation for building blockchain abstraction layers, allowing traditional backends and dApps to interact with any blockchain network through a single middleware solution. Without a blockchain interoperability protocol, Web2 systems and dApps would need to build separate in-house implementations for each cross-chain interaction that they want to use, which is a time-consuming, resource-intensive, and complex process.

Blockchain interoperability protocols provide the following capabilities:

• You can transfer assets and information across multiple blockchains.
• Application developers can leverage the strengths and benefits of different chains.
• Collaboration between developers from diverse blockchain ecosystems enables the building of cross-chain applications to serve more users and provide additional features or products for them.

The Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) provides these capabilities and enables a variety of use cases.

What is Chainlink CCIP?

Chainlink CCIP is a blockchain interoperability protocol that enables developers to build secure applications that can transfer tokens, messages (data), or both tokens and messages across chains.

Given the inherent risks of cross-chain interoperability, CCIP features defense-in-depth security and is powered by Chainlink's industry-standard oracle networks which have a proven track record of securing tens of billions of dollars and enabling over $14 trillion in onchain transaction value.

CCIP provides several key security benefits:

• Proven Decentralized Architecture: CCIP uses multiple decentralized oracle networks (DONs) to validate each cross-chain transaction, leveraging the same time-tested infrastructure powering Chainlink Data Feeds which have been used by hundreds of DeFi applications to enable $26T in transaction value over a period of nearly 6 years of in-production operation.
• Rate Limiting: CCIP offers a rate limiting feature that enables owners to establish and configure rate limiting policies for Cross-Chain Tokens, which are enforced at both the source and destination chains. This provides an enterprise-grade security feature to ensure operational continuity and limit blast radius in failure scenarios.
• Timelocked Upgrades: All onchain security-critical configuration changes and upgrades to core CCIP infrastructure must pass through a Role-based Access Control Timelock contract, where CCIP node operators can veto the upgrade during the review period or explicitly approve the upgrade during time-sensitive circumstances.
• High-Quality, Sybil-Resistant Node Operators: CCIP uses the same globally distributed, security-reviewed, public node operators that secure other services on the Chainlink platform, as well as validate leading blockchain networks and operate traditional Web2 telecommunication infrastructure. Each independent node in CCIP is run by an independent organization who have extensive DevOps expertise and robust security practices around private key management.

To understand how Chainlink CCIP works, refer to the architecture section. If you are new to using Chainlink CCIP, read these guides before you deploy any contracts that use CCIP.

Chainlink CCIP core capabilities

Chainlink CCIP supports three main capabilities:

Arbitrary Messaging

The ability to send arbitrary data (encoded as bytes) to a receiving smart contract on a different blockchain. The developer is free to encode any data they wish to send.

Typically, developers use arbitrary messaging to trigger an informed action on the receiving smart contract, such as rebalancing an index, minting a specific NFT, or calling an arbitrary function with the sent data as custom parameters. Developers can encode multiple instructions in a single message, enabling them to orchestrate complex, multi-step, multi-chain tasks.

Token Transfer

The ability to transfer tokens to an account on a different blockchain. This capability enables the seamless movement of assets across chains.

Programmable Token Transfer

The ability to simultaneously transfer tokens and arbitrary data (encoded as bytes) within a single transaction. This mechanism allows users to transfer tokens and send instructions on what to do with those tokens.

For example, a user could transfer tokens to a lending protocol with instructions to leverage those tokens as collateral for a loan, borrowing another asset to be sent back to the user.

Receiving account types

With CCIP, you send transactions with data (arbitrary messaging), tokens, or both data and tokens (programmable token transfer). The receiver of a CCIP transaction varies by blockchain family:

Note: On EVM chains, EOAs cannot receive messages. On Solana (SVM), programs work with Program Derived Addresses (PDAs) to manage token reception.

Common use cases

Chainlink CCIP enables a variety of use cases:

• Cross-chain lending: Chainlink CCIP enables users to lend and borrow a wide range of crypto assets across multiple DeFi platforms running on independent chains.
• Low-cost transaction computation: Chainlink CCIP can help offload the computation of transaction data on cost-optimized chains.
• Optimizing cross-chain yield: Users can leverage Chainlink CCIP to move collateral to new DeFi protocols to maximize yield across chains.
• Creating new kinds of dApps: Chainlink CCIP enables users to take advantage of network effects on certain chains while harnessing compute and storage capabilities of other chains.

Read What Are Cross-Chain Smart Contracts to learn about cross-chain smart contracts and examples of use cases they enable.

CCIP Directory

See the CCIP Directory page for a list of supported networks, tokens, and contract addresses.

To learn about tokens, token pools, and the token onboarding process, see the CCIP Architecture page.