Q&A: Why cross-chain messaging matters

cointelegraph.com:

Cross-chain messaging ensures blockchains can talk to one another, reducing fragmentation in this fast-moving industry.

Zhaojun, co-founder of Multichain, tells us why it matters — and what could happen to networks that fail to embrace this "revolutionary headwind." 

1. Hello! Why is cross-chain messaging so necessary? 

As we can all see, a multi-chain ecosystem is beginning to take shape in Web3 — and the necessity for communication between blockchains is growing. 

After going through various stages of evolution, Web3 DApps have now reached the point where they can execute on a single chain while being deployed on multiple chains. The operational logic, however, is still fragmented, which leads to problems like liquidity fragmentation and DApp cloning.

To address this, multiple blockchain networks should be more integrated. The level of integration is only possible when chains share business logic level information, like smart contracts and block data, with one another — not just liquidity. That way, users and liquidity are not confined to one ecosystem, — instead, they are efficiently managed by their free flow across networks.

2. Can you tell us in basic terms what anyCall does?

anyCall a generic cross-chain messaging infrastructure to exchange arbitrary data. It is a system of smart contracts and an open-source, off-chain, decentralized validator network based on SMPC that works together to make cross-chain communication possible.

Think of blockchains as parallel lines, they never meet. In anyCall, the off-chain validator network has access to a set of smart contracts on the connected chains that they're licensed to read and execute. 

Any message that needs to be transmitted is sent to these contracts, from where it is picked