Detecting Cross-Chain Transactions and Anomalies on EVM-Compatible

Level: MAP
Responsible person: Tao Yan
Keywords:  Blockchain bridge, cross-chain transaction, anomaly detection

Ethereum’s scalability limitations have led to the emergence of EVM-compatible blockchains such as Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism, which offer faster and cheaper transactions while maintaining compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. However, cross-chain transactions often suffer from a lack of traceability and are associated with various security vulnerabilities. 

Building on previous work [1], which developed an algorithm to trace cross-chain transactions between Ethereum and Polygon, this project aims to extend the methodology to multiple EVM-compatible blockchains and incorporate anomaly detection techniques [2] to identify suspicious cross-chain behaviors. In addition, the project will examine stablecoin flows across different blockchains to better understand their role in cross-chain liquidity. 

We will develop an EVM-compatible cross-chain database that integrates bridge metadata, cross-chain transactions, and labeled anomalies. We welcome students with strong backgrounds in blockchain interoperability, data analytics, and database systems to contribute to this project. 

References: 

[1] Yan, T., Huang, C., & Tessone, C. (2025). Tracing Cross-Chain Transactions Between EVM-Based Blockchains: An Analysis of Ethereum-Polygon Bridges. Ledger, 10, 113–134. https://doi.org/10.5195/ledger.2025.433 

[2] Augusto, A., Belchior, R., Pfannschmidt, J., Vasconcelos, A., & Correia, M. (2024). XChainWatcher: monitoring and identifying attacks in cross-chain bridges. arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.02029.