A New Era for Crypto Transfers on Chainlink: The Second Check Is Now Optional!
In its new version, which lets institutions choose their own validators for cross-chain transfers, Chainlink has moved a separate second security check to optional validators.
Chainlink CCIP version 2.0, which enables the transfer of tokens and messages between different blockchains, launched on September 28. According to CoinDesk, the update lets institutions using this infrastructure select additional validators to check transfers.
Institutions can run their own validators or obtain services from external providers such as Infosys and Nethermind. Chainlink’s main network of 16 independent node operators will continue checking every transfer, regardless of these choices.
What happened to the old second security layer?
An important change in the update involves the security layer called the Risk Management Network, which rechecked transactions separately from the main network. This network no longer performs the previous second-check function; Chainlink says independent additional checks can now be provided by the new optional validators.
As a result, transfers by users who do not select additional validators can rely on Chainlink’s main validator network, rather than the two separate verification networks used previously. Which additional checks institutions choose in the new version has become important to the security arrangements for transfers.
Why is the $292 million attack in the news?
In cross-chain bridges, validators check that a transaction has actually taken place on one network, allowing funds to be released on another. If this check is deceived, assets that were never deposited in exchange can be withdrawn.
In April, about $292 million in rsETH was stolen from Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-based bridge. After the attack, LayerZero criticized Kelp for using a single validator, while Kelp argued that its setup had been reviewed by the LayerZero team and had not faced any objections. The incident put the number of independent checks at bridges at the center of the security debate.
Existing Chainlink users were automatically migrated to CCIP 2.0. Aave and Maple have begun adopting other features in the release; the names of institutions using the new validators have not yet been announced.