Overview
Across Protocol involves five key roles, each with distinct responsibilities and economic incentives:Depositor
End users initiating cross-chain transfers
Relayer
Fill deposits by fronting capital for fees
Data Worker
Validate and aggregate cross-chain activity
Disputer
Monitor and challenge invalid proposals
Liquidity Provider
Provide capital on L1 to earn fees
Depositor
Who Are They?
Depositors are end users (typically non-technical) who want to transfer tokens from one chain to another. They can be:- Individual users bridging assets
- Smart contracts initiating cross-chain operations
- Protocols integrating Across for their users
- Aggregators routing through Across
Responsibilities
Initiate Deposits
Initiate Deposits
Call
deposit() or depositV3() on the origin chain’s SpokePool to lock tokens and create a deposit order.Set Parameters
Set Parameters
Specify deposit parameters including recipient, output amount, fill deadline, and optional exclusivity settings.
Pay Fees
Pay Fees
Pay relayer fees captured in the spread between
inputAmount and outputAmount.Speed Up (Optional)
Speed Up (Optional)
Can call
speedUpDeposit() to increase the fee and incentivize faster fills.Entry Points
Deposit Variants
Across supports multiple deposit flows:- Standard Deposits:
deposit()/depositV3() - Gasless Deposits: Off-chain signature, relayer submits
- Sponsored Deposits: Third-party pays origin chain gas
- Cross-Chain Messages: Include
messagefor destination contract calls
Economic Incentives
Costs:- Origin chain gas for
deposit()call - Relayer fee (spread between input and output amounts)
- LP fee (included in spread, collected by protocol)
- Fast cross-chain transfers (seconds vs. hours)
- Guaranteed delivery (slow fill fallback)
- Competitive pricing from relayer competition
- No need to bridge assets manually
Relayer
Who Are They?
Relayers are sophisticated actors who:- Run off-chain bots monitoring
FundsDepositedevents - Maintain inventory of tokens across multiple chains
- Compete on speed and pricing
- Front capital to fulfill deposits instantly
Responsibilities
Evaluate Profitability
Calculate whether deposit fees cover costs (inventory, gas, opportunity cost).
Fill Function
Economic Model
Costs:- Destination chain gas for
fillRelay() - Opportunity cost of locked capital during challenge window (~2 hours)
- Inventory management and rebalancing costs
- Infrastructure costs (RPC nodes, bots, monitoring)
inputAmount - outputAmount: Gross fee paid by depositorgasCosts: Destination chain gas for fill transactionlpFee: Protocol fee charged on the refund
Competitive Dynamics
Speed Competition
Relayers compete on speed. Fastest relayer to fill earns the fee. This incentivizes low-latency infrastructure.
Inventory Management
Efficient inventory management across chains is crucial. Relayers need tokens on destination chains to fill.
Exclusive Arrangements
Depositors can designate exclusive relayers for negotiated pricing during exclusivity periods.
Market Making
Similar to DEX market makers, relayers provide liquidity and compete on spreads.
Refund Chains
Relayers can choose which chain to receive refunds on, allowing them to:- Optimize for gas costs
- Rebalance inventory
- Avoid chains with high withdrawal costs
Data Worker
Who Are They?
Data workers are off-chain agents operated by:- Risk Labs (protocol developer)
- Potentially other sophisticated actors in the future
- Don’t need to be fast
- Are RPC-intensive
- Maintain longer lookback windows
- Require significant infrastructure
Responsibilities
Proposal Function
Economic Incentives
Costs:- Bond amount (e.g., 10,000 USDC) staked per proposal
- L1 gas for
proposeRootBundle()andexecuteRootBundle()calls - Infrastructure costs (RPC nodes, databases, computation)
- Risk of bond being slashed if proposal is invalid
- Protocol may compensate data workers directly
- Or data workers may be protocol-aligned entities
- Future: potential fee capture mechanism
Key Differences from Relayers
- Speed
- Capital
- Infrastructure
- Risk
Relayers: Compete on speed, milliseconds matterData Workers: Speed not critical, proposals happen every few hours
Disputer
Who Are They?
Disputers are actors who:- Monitor proposed root bundles
- Validate bundle correctness off-chain
- Challenge invalid bundles by calling
disputeRootBundle() - Can be anyone, but typically:
- Protocol team
- Sophisticated third parties
- Automated monitoring bots
Responsibilities
Dispute Function
Economic Incentives
Costs:- Bond amount staked to dispute (same as proposer bond)
- L1 gas for
disputeRootBundle()call - Infrastructure for monitoring and validation
UMA Oracle Resolution
If a bundle is disputed:Game Theory
The dispute mechanism creates strong incentives:- Proposers: Must be correct or lose bond
- Disputers: Only dispute if confident (stake bond)
- UMA Voters: Incentivized to vote correctly to maintain token value
- Result: High economic security with minimal on-chain verification
Liquidity Provider (LP)
Who Are They?
LPs are passive capital providers who:- Deposit L1 tokens into HubPool
- Earn fees from relayer refunds
- Provide liquidity to fund the protocol
- Can be:
- Individual token holders
- Institutions
- DAOs
- Yield aggregators
Responsibilities
Provide Liquidity
Provide Liquidity
Call
addLiquidity() on HubPool to deposit L1 tokens and receive LP tokens.Earn Fees
Earn Fees
LP tokens accrue value over time as fees are collected from relayer refunds.
Withdraw Liquidity
Withdraw Liquidity
Call
removeLiquidity() to burn LP tokens and redeem L1 tokens plus fees.Monitor Protocol
Monitor Protocol
Track utilization rates, APY, and protocol health.
Liquidity Functions
Economic Model
Revenue Sources:- Relay Fees: LPs earn a percentage of fees paid by depositors
- Continuous Accrual: Fees accrue continuously via exponential decay
Utilization and Risk
- Liquid Reserves
- Utilized Reserves
- Utilization Rate
Tokens available in HubPool for immediate withdrawal.
LP Risks
Mitigation:- Extensive audits by OpenZeppelin (audit reports)
- Optimistic verification with challenge periods
- Gradual fee accrual reduces incentive for attacks
- Multi-sig admin keys with timelock
Role Summary
Depositor
Type: End userPays: Relayer fees + gasReceives: Fast cross-chain transfersTechnical Level: Low (simple SDK/UI)
Relayer
Type: Sophisticated actorInvests: Token inventory + infrastructureEarns: Fee spread - gas - LP feesTechnical Level: High (bot, RPC, inventory management)
Data Worker
Type: Protocol-aligned operatorInvests: Bond + heavy infrastructureEarns: Protocol compensation (or aligned incentives)Technical Level: Very high (RPC-intensive, long lookback)
Disputer
Type: WatchdogInvests: Monitoring infrastructure + bond (only when disputing)Earns: Slashed proposer bonds (if correct)Technical Level: High (validation logic)
Liquidity Provider
Type: Passive capital providerInvests: L1 tokensEarns: Continuous fee accrualTechnical Level: Low (simple deposit/withdraw)
Related Documentation
Architecture
System architecture overview
Hub-and-Spoke
Hub-and-spoke model details
Protocol Flow
Complete flow from deposit to refund