Canonical messages
A deterministic envelope separates the interledger message from any source-chain transaction format. Domain-separated message identifiers support replay resistance.
XIM · Research preview
XDC Interledger Messaging Protocol
Authenticated messaging and settlement across independently governed ledgers, institutional networks and financial rails.
On this page
Research preview · September 2026. XIM is not yet ready for production use.
Interoperability as authenticated message exchange
XIM proposes a common messaging layer without requiring connected networks to adopt the same consensus system. It defines canonical messages, deterministic identifiers, cryptographic commitments, replay protection, verification policies, execution semantics and acknowledgements.
Each source–destination connection, or lane, declares a verification policy suited to its value, finality, privacy and trust requirements. XDC Mainnet may serve as a coordination, checkpoint or settlement domain where a workflow requires it; every message does not have to pass through XDC.
Six protocol building blocks
Lane-scoped verification
A lane can select native proofs, light clients, zero-knowledge proofs, threshold attestations, trusted-execution-environment attestations or a hybrid policy.
Commitment-oriented state
Message hashes, sparse Merkle roots and append-only transition logs support auditability without replicating every foreign chain’s state.
Universal Asset Identity
UAID distinguishes an economic asset from its contract addresses and representations on different networks, retaining the distinction between identity and representation risk.
Policy-aware routing
Eligible routes depend on jurisdiction, asset support, privacy, verification strength, value limits, liquidity, deadlines and finality.
Independent risk controls
Lane-specific monitors can rate-limit, pause or downgrade a route without globally stopping unrelated lanes.
Separate responsibilities, explicit trust
Observers
Detect finalized events on a source network and construct candidate XIM messages.
Gateways
Translate authenticated financial instructions and APIs into the protocol’s message semantics.
Verifiers
Evaluate the supplied evidence against the verification policy of the lane.
Routers
Select eligible direct or multihop settlement paths.
Executors
Submit verified actions to the destination and record execution receipts.
Risk monitors
Detect anomalies and apply circuit breakers to affected lanes.
Public-chain settlement workflow
An adapter observes source finality, builds proof evidence, commits a message, verifies it on XDC, executes the destination settlement and emits an acknowledgement.
Institutional ledger workflow
An authorized gateway commits to a private institutional event. Selective disclosure supports verification without publicly replicating confidential transaction data.
Financial instruction workflow
A gateway authenticates a financial instruction, creates a settlement intent, verifies HSM-backed evidence, executes destination settlement and returns reconciliation output.
Trust that can be assessed and contained
XIM does not eliminate trust. The proposal makes trust assumptions explicit for each lane so that verification, operational responsibility and risk can be assessed separately.
Authenticity
A destination accepts a message only when evidence satisfies the lane’s policy.
Replay resistance
A consumed message identifier cannot execute a second time within the destination security domain.
Lane isolation
An anomalous or compromised lane can be paused without stopping unrelated routes.
Auditability
Authenticated commitments and events allow state transitions to be reconstructed.
Where XIM could apply
Public blockchains, permissioned ledgers, institutional networks, stablecoins, tokenized assets, trade finance and ISO 20022-compatible payment workflows.
A proposed twelve-week implementation
The roadmap describes a staged minimum viable implementation. Public test vectors, reproducible benchmarks, adversarial testing, independent audits and formal analysis are required before production use.
Weeks 1–2 · Protocol freeze
Finalize the v0.1 schema, NetworkID and UAID formats, state machine, lane policies and test vectors.
Weeks 2–5 · XDC contracts
Implement MessageRegistry, VerifierRegistry, RiskManager, replay protection and the event model.
Weeks 3–7 · First adapters
Develop XDC and Ethereum observers and executors, deterministic encoding and a threshold-attestation bootstrap.
Weeks 5–8 · Commitments & SDK
Build the sparse-Merkle-tree library, batch roots, TypeScript and Go SDKs, and REST/gRPC APIs.
Weeks 7–10 · Security & operations
Add rate limits, lane pause, key rotation, monitoring and chaos/failure tests.
Weeks 10–12 · Pilot
Demonstrate Ethereum–XDC testnet messages and asset transfers, then publish benchmarks.
Questions about XIM
What is XIM?
A proposed verification-agnostic protocol for messaging and settlement between ledgers, institutional networks and financial rails.
Must every network share one consensus system?
No. Each network retains its own governance and consensus; XIM defines authenticated exchange between those trust domains.
How are messages verified?
Each lane selects an explicit evidence policy, including proofs, light clients, attestations or hybrid verification.
What happens if a lane is compromised?
Risk monitors can limit, pause or downgrade the affected lane while unrelated routes continue.
How does XIM relate to XDC Zero and Subnet?
XDC Zero supports subnet–mainnet communication. XIM research broadens the model to heterogeneous chains, institutional ledgers and financial gateways.
Is XIM ready for production?
No. It is a research preview, with implementation, testing, benchmarks, audits and formal analysis still part of the path to production.
Read the XIM paper
Research by Atul Khekade, Ritesh Kakkad, Wanwiset Peerapatanapokin and Behnam Mohammadkhani, XDC Network Research & Engineering, September 2026.
XIM research paper
Protocol design and implementation roadmap.
XIM protocol site
Companion presentation of the protocol research.
Developer support
XDC developer forum
Ask technical questions and share implementation experience.
Developer Telegram
Join the XDC developer community.
XDC documentation
Network, smart-contract and node documentation.
CodeRun.AI
AI-assisted technical support and development tools.
SOURCE & CONTEXT
Content carried forward from XinFin’s public website and linked primary sources. Historical material is identified where applicable.
Source record Editorial methodology