Corda to Ethereum Interoperability: the Use Case of Wholesale to Retail CBDC Transfer

Abstract

The rapid evolution of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) has shown a new era of digital innovation with profound implications for various industries, particularly in the financial sector. Central to this transformation is the emergence of Central Bank Digital Currencies(CBDCs), representing a pivotal development in modernizing monetary systems. DLT has proven to be the best technology candidate for developing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) use cases due to its many features, such as transparency and immutability. This dissertation explores the interoperability between two prominent DLTs, Corda and Ethereum, to facilitate the issuance and seamless transfer of CBDCs. The methodology employed in this research revolves around a bridge/router architecture, acting as middleware to bridge between the source DLT (Corda) and the target DLT (Ethereum). The study leverages the Cross-Blockchain Integration Design Decision (CBIDD) framework to systematically select an appropriate interoperability approach. A prototype was implemented using Node.js along with Corda and Ethereum smart contracts, utilizing the native features of Corda, Ethereum, and Web3.js. A preliminary evaluation depicts that the latency is influenced more by the DLs than the bridge components.