Union

Overview:

Union is a hyper-efficient zero-knowledge infrastructure layer designed for general message passing, asset transfers, NFTs, and DeFi. It utilizes Consensus Verification and does not rely on trusted third parties, oracles, multi-signatures, or MPC. Union is compatible with Cosmos chains through IBC and can connect to EVM chains like Ethereum, Berachain, and Arbitrum. The protocol’s evolution and governance are controlled by decentralized governance for enhanced alignment with users, validators, and operators.

Features:

• Consensus Verification: Built on Consensus Verification, Union ensures a secure and efficient infrastructure layer.
• Zero-Knowledge Prover: Utilizes Galoisd for implementing zero-knowledge prover implementation in Go and Gnark.
• Modular Relayer: Voyager is a modular hyper-performant cross-ecosystem relayer written in Rust.
• Decentralized Governance: All decisions regarding upgradability, connections, token configurations, and protocol evolution are controlled by decentralized governance.
• CosmWasm Smart Contract Stack: Incorporates CosmWasm for smart contract development in Rust.
• EVM Compatibility: Union can connect with various EVM chains like Ethereum, Berachain, and Arbitrum.
• Light Clients: Offers light clients for different ecosystems in Rust.
• Faucet: Drip is a faucet for Cosmos chains to facilitate easy access to tokens.

Installation:

To work with Union and its components, follow these steps:

1. Install Nix to reproducibly build any component and enter a dev shell with all dependencies.
2. Use the provided commands to build Union’s components from source and ensure the necessary dependencies are present.
3. Run the formatting and spell-check commands before submitting any PR to the repository.

Summary:

Union provides a robust infrastructure layer for various blockchain-related functionalities like asset transfers, NFTs, and DeFi. With its emphasis on efficiency, zero-knowledge principles, and decentralized governance, Union offers developers a reliable platform to build and connect with different blockchain ecosystems. The availability of various tools and components like Galoisd, Voyager, and CosmWasm, along with clear installation instructions, makes Union a promising solution for blockchain development.