It’s here, folks! XCM transfer is now on Astar and you can transfer your KSM +DOT to Shiden + Astar!

To kick things off, what is XCM?

XCM is a format for how message transfer should be performed in an interoperable network. Cross-Consensus Messaging is between chains, smart contracts, pallets, bridges, and even sharded enclaves like Spree. More info here!

The significance of XCM is attributed to the groundbreaking capability of DOT, Polkadot’s native coin, to be traded, sent, and composed across all parachains on the Polkadot network, the same as KSM will be for Kusama.

We see the future of blockchain to be more integrated and DApps will be heterogeneous. In the future, blockchains will have to focus on specific utility, and they will focus on bringing foreign assets to their sovereign network. Blockchains will grow not just based on their ecosystem or the utility within the applications, but through the utility that they can provide to other blockchains.

We will see less competition within the same blockchains, but more cooperation between networks and communities. We want Astar Network to be the hub of innovative dApp projects that can be written in various languages and use features of other parachains to create a unique experience.

The most important thing you should take away about the revolutionary XCM is that XCMP (Cross-Chain Message Passing) allows the parachains to exchange messages with other parachains using the shared security of the Relay Chain. While full-featured XCMP is still being developed on Polkadot, its initial features (most notable first use asset transfer) will be available through the use of Horizontal Relay-routed Message Passing (HRMP).

Why is this important? As you may already know, Polkadot Network offers a shared security model to the Parachains built on top of it. A sort of insurance, if you will, against hacks.

You know all the hacks you’ve seen around? Ronin Bridge Hack and Wormhole Bridge, to name the most infamous ones. Audited or Unaudited Smart Contractors pose a problem in our industry because no amount of audit can 100% guarantee an exploit-free passage.

Excitement about XCM is the pinnacle of the notion of shared security that Polkadot offers Parachains and how it is different from other interchain protocols built on the architecture of bridges.

We have a section on this in our documentation if you want to dig in further:

https://docs.astar.network/xcm/overview

You are now able to transfer KSM and DOT via XCM on the Astar Portal from Kusama and Polkadot to Shiden and Astar. DOT holders can move tokens to Astar via our Portal, but as this is in writing dApps on ASTAR are integrating XCM capabilities into their protocols so expect to have DeFi usage of it. Also, HRMP is something that’s coming really soon. Currently, you have the ability to transfer DOT as the first asset but when HRMP becomes available in the next few weeks, it will be any token.

One of the biggest takeaways for you today is that XCM is a generic message format designed to be a language for communication between two systems. As the name suggests, it’s not necessarily only bound to Substrate-based or Dotsama chains — it can be adopted and used by any system using any consensus.

Clearly, many more exciting updates are coming and XCM will play a huge role in the development of the Astar Network. Stay tuned to this space for the latest on XCM, Polkadot, and Astar, and please share with your friends what we are up to!

Please visit the doc to learn how to transfer DOT from Polkadot relay chain to Astar Network: https://docs.astar.network/xcm/using-xcm-on-astar/xcm-transactions.

About Astar

Astar Network is the Smart Contract Hub for WASM + EVM and the top Parachain on Polkadot in Total Value Locked + Most Ethereum Assets. Since winning its Parachain auction in January 2022, Astar Network has become the top Parachain in the Polkadot ecosystem in Total Value Locked and most Ethereum assets transferred over. Astar Network is the leading smart contract hub that connects the Polkadot ecosystem to Ethereum, Cosmos, and all major layer 1 blockchains. Astar Network supports dApps using multiple virtual machines — namely WASM and EVM — and offers the best technology solutions and financial incentives via its Build2Earn and Astar Incubation Program for Web3 developers to build on top of a secure, scalable, and interoperable blockchain.

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