☝️What is Wormhole

#Wormhol — is an interoperability protocol between blockchains. The main idea is to enable the transfer of not just tokens but also other data, messages, NFTs, voting, etc. — between different networks.

It works like a layer that 'connects' many blockchains, allowing them to 'communicate'.

👀Early years and development

The project was launched around October 2020 by Certus One with the aim of creating a bridge between Ethereum and Solana.

Over time, the protocol grows: support for new blockchains, expanding functionality to more general interoperability, not only tokens but also messages between chains (messaging) and other forms of data.

🎉Important events / challenges

1. Exploit / hack (2022)

In February 2022, Wormhole suffered a significant hack: approximately 120,000 wETH (wrapped ETH) were stolen — this is ~$320 million.

After this, the Wormhole team stated that all funds had been recovered.

2. Acquisition of Certus One by Jump Trading and subsequent development

Certus One, the creator of Wormhole, was acquired by Jump Trading (one of the major players) in 2021.

In November 2023, Wormhole separated: Wormhole Foundation / Wormhole Labs was established as an independent main participant — for development, product launch.

At the same time, a funding round was held for ~$225 million, with a project valuation of ~$2.5 billion.

💺Token W and tokenomics

In April 2024, the project officially launched its native token #W .

Key parameters:

Indicator Value

Maximum issuance 10,000,000,000 W

Initial circulation 1.8 billion W

The remaining issuance is gradually unlocked over ~4 years through vesting.

Distribution (tokenomics) includes:

— part of the tokens for the community (airdrop)

— strategic partners, 'guardians' nodes, ecosystem, funds, etc.

Staking / governance. Participation in governance through holding W, the possibility of staking, delegating votes, participating in decisions regarding the development of Wormhole.

🤑Current status

Wormhole supports over 30 blockchains in its network.

A significant number of transactions have passed through the protocol: both messages between chains and asset movements.

Token W already functions on several chains: on Solana in SPL format, on EVM chains as ERC-20 (or planned) through the Native Token Transfer (NTT) framework.

The protocol is actively moving towards decentralization.