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Catalyst Knowledge Hub

The Catalyst for Cross-Chain Applications

Welcome to the Catalyst knowledge hub! If you’re new to the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, you’ve come to the right place. This guide will provide you with a simple, easy-to-understand introduction to Catalyst, explaining its purpose, key features, and benefits.

What Is Catalyst?

Catalyst is the permissionless cross-chain Automated Market Maker (AMM) for the modular future. It enables easy liquidity connections and asset swaps between different blockchains, such as Ethereum, and Cosmos, and rollups like Optimism and Eclipse.

The goal of Catalyst is to create an interconnected ecosystem where users can effortlessly access assets and applications across multiple chains, and developers can easily launch new blockchains and connect them to existing networks and their respective users.

What Is The Modular Future?

Modular blockchains – a relatively new concept in crypto – are blockchains that are made up of different modules that can be added or removed as needed. Each module performs a specific function, making the blockchain more flexible and adaptable to changing needs, allowing for greater customization and specialization. Modular blockchains can help increase the scalability and efficiency of blockchain networks, allowing more people to begin to adopt and use crypto technology.

Modular blockchains are easier to configure and deploy than traditional blockchains, which will enable an explosion in the number of blockchains. As new chains continue to launch, they remain siloed and fragmented, hindering trade between them. In fact, there’s not much to do for a modular chain after launch if it can’t connect to another blockchain. Catalyst is changing this, offering an automatic cross-chain connection for modular chains at launch – dissolving the barriers between chains as a global liquidity layer.

Why Is Catalyst Important?

Catalyst has a vision for a global liquidity layer for all chains—available automatically at launch. With an innovation called unit of liquidity, Catalyst can automatically connect to any new chain in a future of continued chain proliferation.

  1. Permissionless Liquidity: Catalyst democratizes access to blockchains by enabling permissionless liquidity. By allowing any new chain to connect with any desired chains (whether it be an established hub like Ethereum or a newer modular chain), Catalyst reduces overhead in expanding into new chains and accessing their liquidity, thereby providing support for the long tail of assets not found on any other on-chain venue.

  2. Cross-Chain Interoperability: As the number of blockchain networks continues to grow, it’s essential to have a solution that enables seamless communication and liquidity movement between them. Catalyst facilitates cross-chain swaps, allowing users to access applications and assets on different chains without being restricted by their current holdings.

  3. Simplified Integration for Developers: Catalyst streamlines the process for developers to create new chains and connect them to existing networks. This encourages innovation and helps developers scale their projects, ultimately leading to a more diverse and robust ecosystem of applications and services for users.

Our advantages

Permissionless

New chains are integrated into Catalyst immediately as they are deployed. Cross-chain liquidity pools and cross-chain asset swaps are open for anyone to initialize.

Safe by Design

Catalyst sends one single, lightning-fast cross-chain message and only leverages battle-tested, trust-minimized protocols like IBC.

Simple and Sustainable

One-click transaction experience using native assets. Capital efficient liquidity provisioning, and sustainable yield through MEV recapture.