Glossary
Axelar
A Cosmos-based cross-chain network with its own validator set and PoS chain that routes messages and assets across 60+ connected chains.
Axelar is itself a blockchain — a Cosmos SDK PoS chain — whose validators run light clients of every connected chain and produce attestations on inbound messages. Each connected chain runs an Axelar gateway contract that verifies attestations from a quorum of validators.
The model is similar to a relayed multisig, but the validator set is permissionless and stake-backed rather than a fixed committee. Axelar is widely used for cross-chain DeFi and for wrapped asset transfers, with deep Cosmos-to-EVM integration.