Table of Contents 

ACX: Across Protocol Bridge for Beginners

ACX: How The Setup Works

ACX: User Benefits

ACX: Use Cases

ACX: The Utility Token 

ACX: DeFi’s Choice Cross Chain Bridge

ACX: Across Protocol Bridge for Beginners

The Web 3 space boasts of several unique projects and Across Protocol is one of them: it introduced the cross-chain intents concept in 2021 and has been operating on that concept since then. Today, I will be discussing Across Protocol, how it operates, the user benefits and the foreseeable future of the protocol in Web 3. Across is an interoperability protocol powered by intents. It is the only cross-chain intents protocol in production today, enabling the fastest and lowest-cost way to transfer value without security tradeoffs.

The blockchain based interoperability protocol enables users to bridge assets securely between the Ethereum network and other blockchain networks. The protocol is set up to provide users with a single point of access for cross chain transactions. Across protocol uses UMA’s optimistic Oracle to ensure security. The protocol majors on capital efficiency through a single liquidity pool, competitive relayers and a no slippage fee model. Across is set up with the aim of providing seamless and cost effective cross chain transactions, ensuring good user experience. 

ACX: How The Setup Works

Across Protocol is kept running by some components which ensure that the protocol is at optimal performance. These components include:

• Intents-Across Protocol: Intents are a form of technology that enable users to dictate blockchain transactions from a single network.Intents can be single-chain, or cross-chain, depending on the desired outcome.
• ERC-7683: ERC-7683 standardizes how these cross chain interactions are expressed as intents, enabling seamless connectivity between Ethereum mainnet, L2s, and sidechains.
• UMA Powered Optimistic Oracle: This setup assumes that all transactions are correct to increase scalability and then performs a sequencer correction that reverts invalid transactions.
• Relayers: Relayers conduct intents and other tasks in exchange for rewards. They are automatically monitored for quality and the best are pushed to the forefront.
• Bonded Relayers: Bonded Relayers carry out the main task of giving two hour short term loans to L1 users. This ensures steady loan repayment and opens access to users while optimizing performance.
• Liquidity Pool: The liquidity pool has transactions from L1 and L2 networks. The pool provides rewards for funds locked based on the amount of funds the user places in the pool
• ACX Governance Token: The Across Protocol Token or ACX is the main utility and governance token for the protocol. Any user that has staked ACX can put forth platform suggestions via proposals on chain.

ACX: User Benefits

There are several benefits that come with being a user on Across Protocol and they include:

• Lower costs: Across Protocol charges lower fees when compared to its competitors. The gas fee component is lower and total costs come in 25-75% cheaper than other bridges.
• Broad multi chain access: Across Protocol enables users to bridge assets across multiple chains on the Blockchain. This simplifies multi chain asset movement at reduced costs.
• Lightning speeds: Across Protocol provides speedy transactions within a timeframe that is less than two seconds. This provides an expansion in flexibility and speed on connected blockchain ecosystems.
• Seamless user experience: Across Protocol provides a seamless user experience by ensuring the optimization of transactions based on factors such as security, gas fees and user delays.
• Click Cross-chain actions: Across Protocol enables users to carry out transactions with simple one click experiences. Across enables dApps to provide simple and cohesive cross-chain user flows as smooth as Amazon’s 1-click checkout feature.

ACX: Use Cases

Across Protocol can be applied into different use cases that can potentially transform the world of Web 3.

• Instant Bridging: If you want to provide a reliable speedy and low cost bridging process on your app, Across Protocol helps set it up for you. Your users can easily onboard and bridge funds once or infrequently, while performing other transactions.
• Cross chain actions: Across Protocol enables developers to assist app users in seamlessly interacting with dApps or chains using assets from other chains. This is a future-forward solution that aims to abstract bridging from end-users by making cross-chain actions so fast and cheap that it feels like a single-chain experience. 
• Cross chain intents: The future of interoperability is intents and Across Settlement is the only production-ready, modular settlement layer built to facilitate cross-chain intents. The Across Bridge and Across+ products build on top of Across Settlement to offer bridging to users and bridge abstraction to dApp developers.
• Liquidity provision: Across Protocol rewards liquidity providers with ACX emissions. There are also additional rewards for participating in the Ethereum based liquidity pools. Across Protocol additional has a referral program where users are actively rewarded for participation.

ACX: The Utility Token 

Across Protocol Token otherwise known as ACX is the main governance and utility token of the network. As at the 29th of November, 2024 the price of the ACX token on Coingecko was $0.4074 with a 24 hour trading volume of $3,068,061 and a market cap of $177,496,511. The total supply of the token is 1,000,000,000 and the circulating supply is 437,206,378. ACX is popularly available on exchange platforms such as Gate.io, MEXC and Latoken.

ACX token is an ERC-20 token that governs the decisions affecting the function of Across Protocol and manages the DAO's treasury. It allows for decentralized ownership and control of the protocol. As a governance token, it enables holders to participate in the governance processes such as ideation, discussion, proposal, feedback, voting and execution phases. If you want to buy ACX tokens, follow this step wise guide below.

1. Create an account on an exchange platform that supports ACX trading. Platforms you can use are Gate.io, MEXC, Latoken, Bitrue, MXC, CoinEX and Balancer V2.

2. Choose a payment method to fund your account. Payment methods include credit or debit cards, bank deposits, P2P trading options and third party payment platforms like Simplex.

3. Navigate to the exchange's Buy & Sell section, select ACX as the cryptocurrency you want to buy, and choose your preferred trading pair (e.g., ACX/USDT). Buy the amount of your choosing.

4. Congratulations! You can hold ACX in your exchange account or transfer it to your personal cryptocurrency wallet for additional security and flexibility.

5. Actively monitor ACX's price performance and consider trading it for other cryptocurrencies or holding it for passive income.

ACX: DeFi’s Choice Cross Chain Bridge

Over the years, Across Protocol has evolved to become the choice cross chain bridge platform in DeFi. This is because it is the only cross-chain intents protocol in production today, enabling the fastest and lowest-cost interoperability solution without security tradeoffs. The protocol boasts of a whopping $14 billion in transactions volume, 10 million performed transactions, an average fill time less than one minute and a cost of bridging ETH less than one dollar. The protocol has three unique products: Across Bridge, Across+ and Across Settlement which have great reviews from users across the globe.

It is no wonder why the platform is trusted by brands like Metamask, Balancer, Socket, ChainHop, DODO, Jumper, LI.FI, amongst others for efficiency and speed of transactions. On the 5th of November, 2024 Across Protocol announced its integration with World Chain. This integration would position World Chain as a human first application hub, elevating their World ID proof of human verification and ensuring a scalable, impactful future for Web 3. Days later on the 13th of November, 2024 Across Protocol deployed on Aleph Zero’s new Arbitrum-Orbit EVM chain. This deployment would be Across first ever Arbitrium-Orbit chain integration: it is a sign that there will be more collaborations for Access Protocol.

The collaborations could result in more adoption of the protocol and the creation of new innovative DeFi projects. The future looks bright as a bulb for Across, and its understandable why the protocol is on the lips of everyone in DeFi and Web 3 in general.

This essay is an entry for the Bridge Across With ACX contest on PublishOx.

#BridgeAcrossWithACX

References

https://docs.across.to/introduction/what-is-across

https://www.thebigwhale.io/tokens/across-protocol

https://www.securities.io/investing-across-protocol-acx/

https://medium.com/across-protocol/the-state-of-cross-chain-how-across-uses-capital-efficiency-to-save-users-money-bebd14180130

https://alephzero.org/blog/aleph-zero-integrates-across-protocol-making-bridging-lightning-fast-and-more-affordable-and-secure/

https://slashdot.org/content/building-cross-chain-applications-an-easier-start-with-across-protocol/

https://docs.across.to/use-cases/settle-cross-chain-intents

https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/across-protocol

https://www.gate.io/

https://www.mexc.com/

https://latoken.com/

https://across.to/

https://support.uniswap.org/hc/en-us/articles/30677918339341-What-is-the-Across-Bridge

https://across.to/across-plus

https://across.to/across-settlement

https://across.to/blog/Across-Integrates-with-World-Chain

https://across.to/blog/Across-is-Live-on-Aleph-Zero