Multi-party Computation (MPC)
The following details Sygma's multi-party computation verification system.
Introduction To Sygma's Multi-party Computation (MPC)
Sygma's Tailored Security system begins with its base multi-party computation (MPC) verification. For routes (i.e. source to destination chain) integrated with MPC, users and developers can enjoy a low cost, high speed, and secure service. At a high level, the verification system is implemented via 1) a set of MPC-specific contracts (or equivalent in other ecosystems) and 2) an MPC-specific relayer network.
Onchain events are generated as a result of a cross-chain interaction (through a Sygma-integrated dApp). The MPC relayer network listens for and parses these cross-chain events. Multi-party computation methodologies are then used to determine whether these events are canonical; i.e. can it be verified that these events actually happened? The MPC relayer network will then make attestations and post these events to the destination chain, signifying the end of an MPC-verified cross-chain interaction.
What Is Multi-party Computation?
MPC represents a powerful next step in digital asset security because it eliminates the risk of a single point of compromise.
Instead of relying on Multisigs or other, older ways of key management that either expose relayer identities or introduce easily exploitable single points-of-failure, relayers for Sygma run a secure MPC ceremony each time a user wishes to bridge funds or transfer arbitrary data. In this way, MPC enables multiple parties to carry out a distributed computation on their secret inputs without revealing anything but the output.
MPC was introduced as a solution for the Two Billionaires Problem (Bob and Alice; how to decide who is richer without showing their exact funds, a specific problem which is a Boolean predicate).
The multi-party computation (MPC) model that Sygma employs includes a number of trusted relayer nodes operating under a trusted federation. These trusted relayer nodes are run by reputable entities in the web3 space.
For a detailed research piece, please see Multi-Party Computation: The Next Generation of Crypto Security from our blog.