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Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP)

by Chainlink LabsKY

ScalingStage 5 of 5

Generally available on many chains; used by banks and DeFi apps for token transfers.

Updated 19 May 2025Checked 25 Sep0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Institutional tokenisation integrations
  1. Chainlink mainnet launch30 May 2019Complete.
  2. CCIP early-access mainnetJul 2023Complete.
  3. CCIP general availabilityApr 2024Complete.
  4. Institutional tokenisation integrationsNowCurrent milestone.

Most important updates

  • 19 May 2025
  • 24 Apr 2024
  • 31 Aug 2023
  • 17 Jul 2023
  • 30 May 2019

Current obstacles

  • Bridge securityBridges have been crypto's biggest source of hacks. Safety depends on node operators being truly independent.

Physics limits

  • Chains can't see each otherA blockchain can only verify its own state. Knowing what happened elsewhere needs trusted signers or a light client that re-checks the other chain's consensus, which is costly on-chain.
  • Speed is capped by source finalityA safe transfer must wait until the source chain can't reverse: seconds on some chains, ~13 minutes on Ethereum. Faster delivery means accepting reorg risk.

How it works

4 parts
Fibre-optic cables in a network switch: Chainlink nodes watch one chain and relay committed messages to another over links like these
Fibre-optic cables in a network switch: Chainlink nodes watch one chain and relay committed messages to another over links like thesePhoto: Kirill Sh · Unsplash License (opens unsplash.com)
Commit

Oracles watch the source chain

A network of Chainlink nodes waits for the source chain to finalise, then posts a fingerprint (Merkle root) of outgoing messages to the destination.

Execute

Delivered with proofs

Each message or token transfer is then delivered with a proof that it belongs to the committed fingerprint.

Risk network

An independent second check

A separate network, built on different code, re-checks commits and can halt a route if something looks wrong.

Tokens

Burn-and-mint or lock-and-release

Issuers choose how tokens move: burned on one chain and minted on the other, or locked in a pool and released from another.

Update log

5 updates

Mon 19 May 2025

  • Major: BlogSoftware

Wed 24 Apr 2024

  • Minor: BlogSoftware

Thu 31 Aug 2023

  • Minor: PressPartnership

Mon 17 Jul 2023

  • Major: BlogSoftware

Thu 30 May 2019

  • Major: BlogSoftware

About Chainlink Labs

The team behind Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP)

Chainlink Labs

Oracle networks, CCIP, data streams

Main developer of Chainlink, the most used oracle network: nodes that bring outside data, like prices, onto blockchains. It also builds CCIP for moving tokens and messages between chains, and works with Swift and DTCC on tokenisation.

  • Its price feeds protect a large share of DeFi lending and derivatives collateral.
  • Many nodes' readings are combined off-chain into one signed report, cutting on-chain costs.
  • CCIP adds a separate watchdog network that can halt suspicious cross-chain transfers.

chain.link (opens chain.link)Company profile →

Founded
20179 yrs
Headquarters
Cayman Islands
Status
Private
Valuation
private
Works in
CryptoOracles & bridges
Coverage
1 program · 5 updateslatest 19 May 2025checked 25 Sep
People
Sergey Nazarov (opens en.wikipedia.org)Co-founder
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