Across Protocol vs Axelar

Across Protocol4.3/5

VS

Axelar3.9/5

Feature	Across ProtocolVisit	AxelarVisit
Ratings
Our score	4.3/5	3.9/5
User rating	No reviews yet	No reviews yet
Security	4.0	4.0
Speed	5.0	3.5
Fees	4.5	3.5
Chain coverage	4.0	4.5
Ease of use	4.5	4.0
Specs
KYC required	No	No
Design	Intent-based	Messaging protocol
Chains	Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Polygon, Other	Ethereum, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Polygon, Avalanche, Cosmos, Other
Chains supported	27	80
Typical fee	Network gas and relayer fee with zero aggregator markup	Not disclosed
Typical transfer time	1.2 seconds	Not disclosed
Security model	UMA optimistic oracle	Proof-of-stake validator set
Audited	Yes	Yes
Token	ACX	AXL
Intent-based	Yes	Not disclosed
Native token transfers (no wrapped tokens)	Yes	Yes
Max transfer	$50,000,000	Not disclosed
Company
Founded	2021	2020
Headquarters	—	—
Investors	Paradigm, Bain Capital Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital +3	Polychain Capital, Arrington Capital, C Squared, Distributed Global +33
Strengths and weaknesses
Pros	Average transfer speed of 1.2 seconds across supported chains Over $40B in cumulative volume processed without loss of user deposits Transfers use native assets without relying on wrapped tokens No identity verification (KYC) required to bridge	Connects more than 80 blockchains across EVM, Cosmos, and Solana ecosystems Secured by a decentralized set of over 75 proof-of-stake validators No recorded validator-set or bridge consensus security exploits Supports generic cross-chain contract messaging alongside token transfers
Cons	July 2026 Solana relayer exploit resulted in $3.35M in stolen relayer funds Relies on third-party relayers maintaining destination chain liquidity Off-chain relayer bugs can temporarily pause specific chain routes ACX governance token undergoing sunsetting and corporate restructuring	Security depends on the economic bonding and validator quorum of the AXL chain Outages on connected external chains can delay or pause transfer execution
Best for	Fast cross-chain Layer 2 bridging, DeFi traders avoiding wrapped assets, Large stablecoin institutional transfers	Developers deploying multichain smart contracts, Users bridging between EVM and Cosmos, Institutions routing liquidity to onchain venues

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