Reef’s 2024 roadmap is very pragmatic. We laid out a very realistic roadmap that would allow us to achieve simple, but important objectives in building up the Reef ecosystem. We needed to concentrate on launching dApps and tools our community can use.

Despite the first few months of 2024 having some rearrangements we were able to launch ReefSwap on mainnet and Reef Chain Wallet for Android (iOS coming in the near future!). We also partnered with Fearless Wallet to make staking $REEF on Reef Chain easier on mobile. 

Last month, we started a new validator allowing us to create the Community Developer Fund, which has generated more than USD$11000 in rewards in less than a month, all of which has been spent on bringing new projects to Reef Chain. Now we’re ready to make the second announcement of where these funds are being allocated. 

Reefians have been asking for a bridge so they can move funds to Reef Chain. We understand transferring $REEF between blockchains has been challenging, often requiring you to deposit $REEF into a centralized exchange on one network and then withdraw it on another. Recently, this process has become even more cumbersome and we're working diligently behind the scenes to address this issue.

Today, we’re excited to announce that the ultimate solution is on the way! After an exhaustive search for the best possible partner, Reef has signed an agreement with VIA Labs to integrate $REEF and Reef Chain into a variety of their innovative products.

VIA Labs is going to incorporate Reef Chain into the following products:

• Cross-chain messaging

• Bridging

• Proto-CCTP with USDC

VIA Lab’s cross-chain Messaging lets developers send any information between blockchains. This can include moving tokens across chains, broadcasting oracle data across multiple networks, creating social media notifications triggered by cross-chain events, and more. This product will soon support Reef Chain, with documentation provided to help developers build multi-chain apps that support Reef Chain and more than 110 other networks! 

Second, AnyToAny.io is a cross-chain bridge that allows users to perform cross-chain swaps, enabling them to exchange tokens between different blockchains quickly and easily. On AnyToAny, $REEF will be bridgeable between Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Reef Chain! This major milestone will finally allow users to easily bridge $REEF to Reef Chain and access all of the existing and future capabilities of AnyToAny. 

This $REEF token bridge will be a one-way bridge. That means that $REEF bridged from Ethereum and BNB Chain to Reef Chain will be burnt, permanently reducing the supply of $REEF on Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain. More details will come as we approach the mainnet deployment.

Finally, Proto-CCTP is a cross-chain protocol developed by VIA Labs that enhances and extends the capabilities of Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP). It allows blockchains without native CCTP support to seamlessly transfer USDC across networks, unifying liquidity and simplifying the user experience by enabling cross-chain transfers from any Proto-CCTP-enabled blockchain. Reef will be tapping into the Proto-CCTP network to enable 1:1 backed USDC to flow into the Reef ecosystem!  This relationship with VIA Labs helps us build on top of past conversations and meetings with Circle representatives, making an eventual conversion to official native USDC easier. 

Work is scheduled to begin in mid-October 2024. VIA Labs aims to launch messaging, $REEF bridging between Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Reef Chain, as well as Proto-CCTP for Reef—all before the end of the year. At the latest, we can expect a launch in Q1 2025.

The token bridge, cross-chain messaging and Proto-CCTP will open so many new opportunities on Reef Chain including stablecoin pools on ReefSwap, comprehensive lending protocols and options, stablecoin payments on any platform built on Reef, and more! 

We would like to thank VIA Labs for coming to the table with their technology, expertise and focus on emerging ecosystems! 

Let’s build the Reef! 🪸

REEF is a multi-purpose utility token in the Reef Chain ecosystem. It has a role in the governance of the network and can be staked, used to pay for fees on the network, and traded across various markets. REEF is also the centerpiece of the reward system on Reef Chain, with the token being issued to Validators and Nominators for operating and securing the chain.

Reef Chain features an Ethereum virtual machine and Solidity support, allowing developers to easily port their smart contracts to Reef without changing the most important part of their decentralized applications. Reef Chain also has forkless upgrades, which means that the network is easily upgradable. Scalability, high transaction throughput, support for common ERC standards, and staking are other key elements to Reef Chain's technical capacities. 

VIA Labs is a platform focused on connecting blockchain networks to create a seamless, interoperable environment.

Primarily, the platform provides cross-chain communication by enabling smart contracts, users, and developers to exchange both data and value across different networks.

Learn more here: https://vialabs.io/