Supra CEO Joshua Tobkin Talks Vertical Integration of Blockchain Services, Bridge Security, and Web3 Adoption

While the biggest blockchain bridge hacks have centered on private key mismanagement, according to Joshua Tobkin, CEO of Supra, smart contract errors and cryptography implementation issues also contribute to cybercriminals’ success.

While the biggest blockchain bridge hacks have revolved around private key mismanagement, according to Joshua Tobkin, CEO of Supra, smart contract errors and cryptography implementation issues also contribute to cybercriminals’ success. Tobkin said while bridges are poised to play an increasingly critical role in blockchain interoperability, their control by a small number of validators poses risks.

Cryptographically Secure Bridges Offer Best-in-Class Security To address some of the issues which appear to stem from bridge design, Tobkin, an online gaming veteran, said it is necessary to examine “core cryptographic challenges.” He argued that this approach would help “the source chain and destination chain verify each other’s consensus.” The Supra CEO added that when cryptographically secure, bridges tend to provide “best-in-class security” for cross-chain communications.

On vertical integration of multiple blockchain services into a shared security environment, Tobkin agreed it may be inevitable. This approach, he argued, is the only way to achieve optimal performance speeds, security, and user experiences for builders and users. In turn, it allows blockchains to scale and increase throughput by avoiding the need to “split and silo core blockchain functions across multiple modular networks.”

Tobkin, in his written responses to Bitcoin.com News questions, concurred that the pace of Web3 adoption is not solely dependent on performance or user experience. He asserts that even mediocre technology with superior marketing can outpace superior technology with poor marketing. Tobkin emphasizes that successful Web3 projects require the best of both worlds: excellent technology and effective marketing.

Below are Tobkin’s answers to all the questions sent.

Bitcoin.com News (BCN): According to some Web3 experts, the vertical integration of multiple blockchain services into a shared security environment may well be inevitable. They assert vertical integration is highly desirable to enable blockchains to be more expressive while being low latency and secure. Can you begin by briefly explaining what vertical integration of blockchain services is all about? Why is this inevitable?

Joshua Tobkin (JT): Vertical integration of blockchain services involves consolidating multiple core functions and layers of the blockchain stack into a single network with a cohesive framework. This means that instead of relying on external networks or third-party services for different blockchain functionalities like data availability, execution, and settlement, but even furthermore including such services as oracle price feeds, cross-chain bridges and automation services, everything is integrated into one unified system.

While these functions could be operated independently by separate networks, as modular systems have shown, their integration into one vertically integrated network is imperative for maximal optimization across performance speeds, security, and experiences for builders and users. We can clearly see that blockchains can reach more scale, throughput, and rapid development advancements without splitting and siloing core blockchain functions across multiple modular networks.

We at Supra are seeing even stronger performance gains and innovation unlocks by extending the vertical integration to oracles, bridging, automation, verifiable randomness, and multiple VMs into an extreme performance Layer 1, powered by our novel consensus algorithm, “Moonshot consensus.” Our approach enhances efficiency, security, and performance by reducing latency while maintaining shared security across all of our functionalities and capabilities.

We view vertical integration as inevitable because it addresses key challenges in scalability and reliability, providing a streamlined environment that fosters innovation and cost savings. Complexity is a core problem that this approach solves. The modular approach increases latency, breaks shared security, costs more, and is ultimately a worse developer experience, as the developer will need to manage many tokens and also a variety of frameworks and programming languages. With full vertical integration on Supra, on the other hand, we provide builders with a unified developer experience across all our services.

BCN: In the past two years or so, attacks by cybercriminals targeting the so-called Web3 bridges have been growing and digital assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars have been lost. In your opinion, can any bridge redesign create safe and trustless connections?

JT: The rise in Web3 bridge attacks and significant asset losses highlight the urgent need for improved security. With the consistent rise in the number of blockchains, bridges will only play an increasingly critical role in blockchain interoperability. Most bridges today consist of a couple of node operators who together multi-sign to attest to asset movement, locking, or minting on one chain to the next. However, most designs do not consider several factors such as decentralization, game theory, or security in depth through multiple layers of preventative measures. Moreover, the risks with bridges go beyond node operators colluding.

The biggest bridge hacks have revolved around private key mismanagement, which is solvable by having more decentralization. A major chunk of bridge hacks also happen due to smart contract errors, which can be mitigated by having smart contracts on both the original and destination chains that continue to monitor asset movement. And lastly, some bridge hacks are related to cryptography implementation issues, which is a tough one to catch, but generally can be overcome through multiple rounds of audits.

To create the safest form of trustless connections across two blockchains, we need to

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