On 29 November 2024 Reef Operations Lead Derek E. Silva, and VIA Labs Chief Operation Officer Cletus got together to give Reefians an overview of the partnership between Reef and VIA Labs, development progress for integrating Reef Chain into VIA Labs' products, the upcoming $REEF bridge, and enabling bridged USDC on Reef Chain. It was livestreamed on YouTube, Twitch, X, Facebook and Kick, and so far has been watched

If you want to watch the full AMA, you can do that on YouTube:

Here is a summary of the key points from our AMA with Cletus from VIA Labs:

Background on Cletus and VIA Labs:

• Cletus runs operations at VIA Labs and coordinates development, sales, partnerships, etc.

• VIA Labs has been working on blockchain interoperability for about 3 years. They aim to connect chains and enable seamless value transfer between them.

VIA Network and Proto-CCTP:

• VIA Network, VIA Labs' main product, enables cross-chain messaging and smart contract interactions across 111 blockchains. This will allow Reef developers to build cross-chain apps.

• Proto-CCTP gives new blockchains the same burn/mint capabilities as Circle's USDC CCTP protocol without having to wait for native Circle deployment. It uses the Bridged USDC Standard.

• Proto-CCTP will enable Reef to onboard USDC liquidity from any CCTP-supported chain using multi-hop bridging. No oracles are needed since the bridge is always 1:1 backed.

Reef-Ethereum/BSC Bridge:

• The bridge will allow burning ERC-20/BEP-20 Reef tokens to unlock native $REEF on Reef chain. A UI preview was shown, recently provided by VIA's development team.

• The bridge will be accessible via mobile wallets. The VIA team is incorporating a "retrieve" function for potential Reef marketing/promotional use, but the plan is to burn Ethereum/BNB Smart Chain bridged $REEF tokens.

Current Status and Timelines:

• VIA Labs' infrastructure is connected to Reef testnet with cross-chain message flow working. Mainnet release is being staged.

• The $REEF token bridging contracts are created and being tested internally. UI development is progressing.

• Proto-CCTP integration with Reef is easier than anticipated and on track timeline-wise. Less effort is required compared to the main network connection.

Impact for Reef Ecosystem:

• Stablecoin (USDC) integration enables DeFi features like borrowing/lending, using USDC in trading pairs on ReefSwap, NFT purchases on Sqwid, invoice payments, etc.

• Makes Reef more attractive for collaboration with other projects by enabling token transfers.

• Part of Reef's 2025 plans to integrate Mr.Dapps' Reef Name Service, add lending protocols, enhance Sqwid's feature set, improve developer docs to streamline building, and more.

The Reef community can expect the Ethereum/BSC bridge and Proto-CCTP integration to go live on mainnet once final testing and validations are complete, enabling major new stable coin-powered use cases and cross-chain liquidity. Overall, the AMA highlighted significant progress on the VIA Labs partnership to expand Reef's interoperability and utility.