Additionally, a cross-chain settlement layer would unify the developer experience, letting builders create smoother, more powerful apps that are not constrained by bottlenecks of a single chain or fragmentation of the user experience and assets. By simplifying complex cross-chain processes into easy commands, projects could tap into the entire ecosystem, accessing any asset or tool from any chain.

While these ideas sound great in theory, it's the real-world applications that will unlock their full potential. Take decentralized finance, for example. Right now, liquidity in and users of DeFi dApps are stuck in "walled gardens" across different blockchains. Developers are forced to choose specific chains for deployment based on technical perks or grants, and users are left navigating these silos with limited options. The only current solutions -- bridges and wrapped tokens -- are often inefficient, expensive, and risky.