Hyperlane is an open framework for enabling interoperability. It provides a set of tools that allows developers to connect any blockchains and create applications capable of exchanging data across multiple blockchains.
Yesterday, the sale page for the Hyperlane project appeared on Legion. Let’s briefly highlight it.
TLDR
Registration for the sale starts on February 17.
Raising $4M.
Strong team.
Top-tier Twitter followers.
Old but significant raise (2022) of $18.5M from reputable funds.
American project.
About the Project
Hyperlane is an open framework for enabling interoperability. It provides a set of tools that allows developers to connect any blockchains and create applications capable of exchanging data across multiple blockchains.
In September 2022, they raised $18.5M from Variant, CoinFund, Galaxy, and others. Although the amount is significant, it has likely been spent by now.
Their Twitter is followed by representatives from a16z, Coinbase, Delphi Digital, Fabric Ventures, IOSG VC, Pantera Capital, Polychain, as well as Anatoly Yakovenko from Solana, Sandeep Nailwal from Polygon, Sreeram Kannan from EigenLayer, EigenLayer’s account, Flow, and others.
No tokenomics yet.
In 2024, Hyperlane expanded support to 100+ blockchains and 5+ virtual machines. Integrated TIA on EVM and Injective, expanded the ecosystem through partnerships with RaaS/DA providers (Alt Layer, Caldera, Celestia, Conduit, Gelato Network), VM integrators (Cosmwasm via Mitosis, SVM via Eclipse Foundation, Move via Movement Labs and SUPRA Labs, Starknet via Pragma, as well as Kadena and Rootstock), SVM chains (Soon SVM, Sonic SVM, Carv), and DeFi protocols (Stride, Skip, Pragma, Velodrome, Aave, Renzo Protocol, Elixir, Superform, LogX Trade, Karak Network).
In 2025, integration with TON, Starknet, and Fuel is planned, along with UI improvements and bridge process optimization.
Today, they announced integration with Symbiotic: https://x.com/hyperlane/status/1884376345108681070
The Hyperlane team is smartly integrating into the AI narrative, focusing on the practical problem of enabling AI agents to work across different blockchains: https://medium.com/hyperlane/why-ai-agents-need-interop-4c7ecb0258fc
Team
Based in the USA.
According to their LinkedIn page, the company employs about 25 people.
They are hiring – many open positions: https://jobs.lever.co/Hyperlane
The project has three co-founders.
Nam Chu Hoai – Co-founder and CTO of Hyperlane
Previously: Software engineer at cLabs (Celo blockchain), software engineer at Wellframe (a healthcare platform for personalized patient care), co-founder at Credport (a trust platform for marketplaces), intern at Apture (a web service later acquired by Google), programmer at betterplace.org (a mobile app for charity).
His Twitter is followed by representatives from Coinbase, Solana’s account, and others.
Frequently speaks at events.
Twitter: https://x.com/nambrot
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/namchuhoai/?locale=en_US
Asa Oines – Co-founder of Hyperlane
Previously: Software engineer at cLabs (Celo blockchain), software engineer at Google, hardware engineering intern at Apple.
Graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Inactive Twitter. No notable individuals or companies follow him.
Has not spoken publicly in years.
Twitter: https://x.com/AsaOines
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asa-oines-863b433b/
Jon Kol – Co-founder of Hyperlane
Previously: CEO at Abacus Works (a web development and marketing agency), managing director at Galaxy Digital, investment manager at Passport Capital, securities analyst at Morgan Stanley (investment bank), corporal in the Israel Defense Forces.
His Twitter is followed by representatives from Paradigm, a16z, Coinbase, Galaxy Digital, eGirl Capital, Delphi Digital, IDEO Ventures, as well as Anatoly Yakovenko from Solana, Nansen CEO Alex Svanevik, EigenLayer’s account, and even SBF.
Twitter: https://x.com/thepalenimbus
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-kol-4bb37a9b/
Sale on Legion
Currently, the following sale details are known:
Fundraising target: $4,000,000
Network: Arbitrum
Sale registration starts: February 17, 2025
Activities
Available activities:
Quests on Layer3: https://app.layer3.xyz/communities/hyperlane
Warming up wallets via bridges on Hyperlane: https://www.usenexus.org | https://renzo.hyperlane.xyz | https://bridge.forma.art | https://minter.merkly.com/hyperlane
Form for the Pilot role: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc5RVVls76Y50hKnZ5eXOTqzwcQLVlia02HTgeCUvPCpkCbWw/viewform
Quests for users with the Pilot role: https://zealy.io/cw/hyperlanepilots-5615/questboard
You can set up a node (author did not set one up):
Official guide: https://docs.hyperlane.xyz/docs/operate/validators/run-validators
Unofficial guide: https://medium.com/@breizh-node/how-to-launch-your-hyperlane-validator-node-06a8726725dd
If you haven’t participated in the project before, starting from scratch now is likely not worthwhile.
GitHub Analysis
We again asked artificial intelligence to share its opinion on GitHub.
Step-by-step analysis of GitHub repositories:
1. General Activity and Update Regularity
Frequency and freshness of commits: Regular updates in the main monorepo (e.g., hyperlane-monorepo). Commits are often dated within the last few days or weeks, not months ago.
Diversity of contributors: Commits from different accounts, not just one or two authors. Active discussions in Issues and Pull Requests.
Release rhythm: Systematic versioning, changelogs, and release tags (vX.X.X) indicate a stable release policy.
Conclusion: The project appears active, which is unusual for "fake" projects created for show.
2. Code Quality: Structure, Style, and Literacy
Repository structure: Monorepo approach with subprojects/packages (Solidity smart contracts, TypeScript/JavaScript SDK, utilities).
Solidity and TypeScript code: Logical naming, abstract contracts, interfaces, and tests. Professional practices are evident.
Automation: GitHub Actions and CI/CD tools show regular testing and linting.
Conclusion: High professional level with thoughtful architecture, industry-standard style, and unit tests.
3. Functionality and Development Depth
Core modules and logic: Focus on cross-chain messaging/protocol. Contracts for message routing, validation, etc.
SDK and integration ease: TypeScript libraries for interacting with smart contracts. Comprehensive documentation.
Additional tools: Gas oracle for dynamic gas pricing in cross-chain operations.
Conclusion: Real engineering complexity, addressing economic and technical challenges, and providing developer-friendly tools.
4. Repository Composition: Beyond README
Technical documentation: Detailed descriptions, diagrams, and architecture comments in the monorepo.
Test quality: Extensive tests covering core modules (message sending, event validation).
Support scripts and configurations: Deployment scripts, network parameter checks, and integration with popular networks.
Conclusion: Substantial documentation, scripts, and tests indicate serious work, not just superficial efforts.
Based on the analysis of code, repository structure, and organizational activity, we can conclude:
Regular commits and a broad team.
High-quality, professional-level code.
Complex and real functionality.
Real development depth.
Hyperlane is a real project created by professional developers.
Competitors
Key competitors of Hyperlane include:
LayerZero (FDV $3.5B): Provides infrastructure for building decentralized applications across multiple blockchains.
Wormhole (FDV $2.16B): A cross-chain protocol enabling data and token transfers between blockchains.
Omni (FDV $694M): Offers cross-chain infrastructure supporting universal applications.
Lagrange (not traded, recent raise): Another competitor in cross-chain solutions, providing infrastructure for universal applications.
Interim Conclusion
Given the strong team, large and active Twitter community, and significant (albeit old) raise from reputable funds, it’s worth considering participating in the sale.
However, it’s necessary to wait for the sale conditions and tokenomics before making a final decision.
