Hyperlane

About Hyperlane

Hyperlane is an open-source messaging protocol designed to facilitate seamless communication between different blockchain networks. Founded in 2022 by Asa Oines, Nam Chu Hoai, and Jon Kol, the company was established to address the challenge of blockchain fragmentation. The founders possess a strong background in the blockchain space; Oines and Chu Hoai were founding engineers at Celo, while Kol previously co-led the venture business at Galaxy Digital. This collective experience shaped Hyperlane's mission to create an "Interchain Highway" that allows developers to build applications that can operate across multiple blockchain ecosystems without permission from a central authority.

The company's core offering is a developer-focused platform that includes a messaging Application Programming Interface (API) and a Software Development Kit (SDK). This enables developers to create "interchain applications" where smart contracts on one chain can send messages, trigger functions, and exchange data with contracts on another. Hyperlane's architecture is modular, supporting various virtual machines like EVM, Solana VM, and CosmWasm. A key feature is its modular security, which allows developers to customize their own security models through "Interchain Security Modules" (ISMs), rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach. This provides applications with fault isolation, ensuring failures are confined to specific security zones.

In September 2022, Hyperlane announced it had raised $18.5 million in a seed funding round led by Variant, with participation from notable investors such as Galaxy Ventures, Coinfund, Circle, and NFX. This capital was earmarked for team expansion, product development, and bolstering security through audits and bug bounties. The protocol's business model involves its native token, HYPER, which is used for staking to secure the network, governance participation, and incentivizing network operators like validators and relayers.