Fast and atomic cross-blockchain asset exchange for metaverse interoperability

Abstract

This work concerns metaverse interoperability. It is a hot topic because more than 240 metaverses were launched in the past years but are merely interoperable. Existing work only focused on particular issues, e.g., asset exchange and object visualization in different metaverses, but neglected the overall picture. Moreover, the existing asset exchange protocols are time-consuming and can hardly afford high-frequency metaverse transactions. To address the issues, we first introduce a layered metaverse interoperability framework that comprehensively considers interoperable cyber worlds, compatible interaction mechanisms, and consistent physical infrastructures. Furthermore, we propose a novel cross-blockchain asset exchange protocol based on key exchange and smart contracts. The proposed protocol is secure and reduces the time overhead from linear to constant.