Axelar has gained significant traction and is a well-funded project with numerous big well-known backers. However, the recent interoperability report from Binance highlighted that Axelar had only completed 80k transactions over a 30-day period when the report was written. This indicates surprisingly low traffic on Axelar in addition to a small number of token holders, considering the project's market cap and buzz.
Tech-wise:
Axelar provides unique autonomous monitoring of blockchains, a feature only a few projects offer.
It can write to connected L1s, facilitating direct L1 settlements. Unfortunately, Axelar falls short in providing scaling options for its builders/users, which could have boosted its rating beyond 3 stars.
On the positive side, the platform can connect to incompatible chains, not limiting itself to EVMs or other VM-specific chains. This flexibility contributes to future-proofing its interoperability offering.
However, Axelar's introduction of additional consensus mechanisms involving voting or mining operations implies that cross-chain interactions may have higher costs. I'd also like to raise concerns about Axelar's consensus potentially being a weak link in the system. How decentralized are the nodes in Axelar's case with its big backers? I am worried the big backers will all control most of the nodes.
In my view, Axelar is on the right path, supported by significant backers and gaining traction in traditional realms such as the JP Morgan partnership. However, the technology itself seems a bit too "basic," if I may express that opinion, and I am worried about centralization. Am happy to change this rating once Axelar has more proven traction. Show Less
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