Inside the EIF: Ethereum community unites for an interoperable future

A significant milestone event, the Ethereum Interop Forum (EIF), took place during Devcon 2024, bringing together key players from across the Ethereum ecosystem. The focus of this gathering was on a shared mission: making Ethereum truly interoperable. The participants acknowledged that while competition is healthy, the true challenge and opportunity lie in delivering solutions that outperform traditional financial systems and existing blockchain alternatives. The goal is to create a World Computer that is simpler to use, faster, cheaper, and truly global in reach.

Key Goals and Initiatives

Shared Goals: The Ethereum community established a clear, user-centric goal: enabling asset transfers between any two chains in less than three blocks. This translates to transfers taking no more than 36 seconds between the Ethereum L1 and L2s, and six seconds at most between L2s. This goal is a commitment to developing shared standards that allow for scaling at capacity.
ERC-7785 - Onchain Configurations: One of the key focus areas is ERC-7785, which involves putting L2 chain configurations onchain. This would create a standardized way to verify that a transaction was included in L2. The benefits of this approach include a more standardized user experience for sending transactions, improved wallet security, faster chain bootstrapping, and the elimination of intermediaries in defining the canonical definition of the chain.
ERC-7828 - Chain-Specific Addresses: Another focus area is ERC-7828, which aims to simplify the user experience by introducing chain-specific addresses. This proposal is part of a broader effort to enhance cross-chain transaction UX, making it easier for users to transact on Ethereum without worrying about which chain they are on. The implementation of chain-specific addresses in a user-friendly format would allow wallets to handle all cross-chain complexity, ensuring assets arrive on the intended chain.