Union, the modular ZK interoperability layer for message passing and asset transfers, is now fully open source.
This opens up the Union repo to community contributions, and enables protocols to permissionlessly integrate and build on Union. Visit the Union repository for a quickstart guide.
Why Union Is Open Sourcing
Open source software is key to Web3’s ethos. As compared to the closed-source software created by Web2 incumbents, which has led to opaque security assumptions, monopolistic behavior, and abandoned critical infrastructure, open source aligns with Web3’s ideals of being transparent, collaborative, and fair. That’s why Union Labs has taken the important step of open sourcing the code behind the Union network.
Now, community contributors will be able to submit changes directly to Union, speeding up the pace of innovation and opening it up to a variety of developers, with different skill sets and experiences.
Web3 protocols will now also be able to integrate Union interoperability into their blockchains or applications without needing to collaborate with the Union Labs team. This moves Union toward a permissionless future, where any blockchain or application can add secure zk-powered interoperability to their tech stack in a decentralized fashion.
Cor Pruijs, CTO of Union Labs, had this to say:
Open-sourcing Union is about more than just transparency—it’s about fostering a collaborative ecosystem where everyone can leverage our ZK interoperability to permissionlessly and securely connect to any chain. Due to Union's modular architecture, devs can add support for any execution environment and consensus mechanism.
Among the components being open sourced are:
The Union node implementation, using CometBLS
Galois zero-knowledge prover
Voyager modular cross-ecosystem relayer
Hubble multi-ecosystem chain indexer
Union light clients for various ecosystems
Click on the links above to inspect each component, or visit the GitHub repo to explore the whole stack. Be sure to join the Union Discord as well, and connect with fellow developers building with Union.
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