# Axelar Network: GMP Calls, Interchain Tokens and Validators

> Axelar activity by route: General Message Passing calls, Interchain Token Service transfers, gas prepaid, time to approval and the validators that sign them.

Markdown copy of https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/axelar-gmp-interchain-tokens

**Question:** How many cross-chain calls and token transfers go through Axelar, on which routes and who signs them?

- Kind: Dashboard in Voltfin Vantage
- Topic: [Layer 1 chains](https://voltfincrypto.com/topics/chains)
- Chains: Multi-chain, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Cosmos
- Status: Planned. The data is not published yet, so this page states no figure; each figure will open its receipt when it is.

Axelar is a proof-of-stake chain that connects other chains through gateway contracts. A contract on one chain calls its local gateway. Axelar's validators, who run nodes for the connected chains, vote that the call happened, and the validator set signs an approval that the destination gateway accepts, after which the destination contract executes it. This is General Message Passing, or GMP.

Tokens move the same way. The Interchain Token Service lets an issuer make a token available on many chains, either by locking it on its home chain and minting elsewhere or by burning and minting. This dashboard reads calls, approvals and executions from the gateways, transfers from the token service and the validator set from the Axelar chain itself.

## Blueprint

### Calls

GMP calls by route, with time to approval and gas prepaid.

- **GMP calls** (count): ContractCall and ContractCallWithToken events on covered gateways in the selected period.
- **Calls carrying tokens** (%): Share of calls in the period that also carried tokens.
- **Median time to approval** (minutes): The median time from the call block to the approval block on the destination gateway.
- **Gas prepaid** (USD): Gas paid to the gas service for calls in the period, valued at oracle prices.
- **Calls by day and source chain** (count): GMP calls each day, split by source chain.
- **Busiest routes**: Each route's calls, calls with tokens, gas prepaid and median time to approval and to execution.

### Tokens and validators

Interchain Token Service transfers and the validator set that signs.

- **Interchain tokens** (count): Tokens registered or deployed through the Interchain Token Service on covered chains.
- **Token service value moved** (USD): Value moved through the Interchain Token Service in the period, valued at oracle prices.
- **Value by token** (USD): Value moved through the token service by each of the most used tokens in the period.
- **Validator set**: Each Axelar validator's voting power, its share of the set and the connected chains it runs nodes for, at the latest day's end.

Filters: Route (Every covered source and destination pair); Period (Last 7, 30 or 90 days).

## How it will be measured

- Calls are ContractCall and ContractCallWithToken events on each chain's Axelar gateway, matched to the destination gateway's ContractCallApproved event by source transaction and event index, and then to the executing transaction.
- Gas prepaid is read from the gas service's payment events for each call, in the source chain's native token, valued at oracle prices at the call block.
- Interchain Token Service transfers are its transfer events on each chain, with lock-and-unlock and mint-and-burn token managers kept apart so a locked token and its minted copy are never added together.
- The validator set and each validator's voting power are read from the Axelar chain's staking state at the day's last block, beside the signer set each gateway accepts.

## Data it needs

- `bridge_flows_daily` (to build): Deposits into and withdrawals out of canonical and major third-party bridges by chain, token and day, plus escrow balances at day end.
- `token_supply_daily` (to build): Total supply of each registry token on each chain at day end: wrapped BTC, liquid staking tokens, tokenized assets and other tracked tokens.
- `native_prices_daily` (to build): Reference prices of major assets read from on-chain oracle feeds (Chainlink latestRoundData) at each day's last block, with each round's update time.
- `address_labels` (to build): Labels for known addresses: exchanges, bridges, protocols, funds, treasuries, sanctioned addresses and known attackers.
- Source: Gateway ContractCall, ContractCallWithToken and ContractCallApproved events on each covered chain
- Source: Gas service payment events for each call
- Source: Interchain Token Service transfer and deployment events and the type of each token manager
- Source: The validator set and voting power from the Axelar chain's staking state and each gateway's signer set

## Questions

### What is Axelar?

A proof-of-stake blockchain built with the Cosmos SDK that connects many chains. Its validators watch the connected chains, vote on what happened there and jointly sign approvals that the gateway contracts on each chain accept.

### What is Axelar General Message Passing?

A way for a contract on one chain to call a contract on another. The sender calls the gateway with a destination and a payload and prepays gas to the gas service, and the destination contract receives the payload once Axelar approves it.

### What is the Interchain Token Service?

Axelar's framework for tokens that live on many chains. An issuer can register an existing token, locked on its home chain and minted elsewhere, or deploy a new interchain token that is burned and minted as it moves.

### Who secures Axelar transfers?

Axelar's validators, who stake AXL and run nodes for the chains Axelar connects. A cross-chain call is approved only after enough of them, weighted by stake, vote that it happened and sign the approval. The dashboard shows the set and its weights.

### What is Axelar Amplifier?

An extension that lets new chains connect to Axelar without waiting for its validators to add support: an integrator deploys contracts and runs verifiers that confirm messages from the new chain.

## Glossary

- **Gateway**: The Axelar contract on each connected chain that emits outgoing calls and accepts approvals for incoming ones.
- **GMP**: General Message Passing: Axelar's service for calling a contract on another chain with a payload.
- **Interchain token**: A token deployed through Axelar's Interchain Token Service that can move between chains while keeping one identity.

## Related apps

- [Hyperlane Tracker: Interchain Messages, Warp Routes and ISMs](https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/hyperlane-messages-warp-routes)
- [Wormhole Bridge Tracker: Messages, Token Transfers and NTT](https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/wormhole-bridge-tracker)
- [Chainlink CCIP Tracker: Cross-Chain Messages and Token Transfers](https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/chainlink-ccip-tracker)
- [LayerZero DVN Checker: Bridge Verifier Settings](https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/layerzero-dvn-checker)
- [Cross-Chain Intents: Volume, Solvers and Fill Times](https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/cross-chain-intents-solvers)
- [Blockchain Revenue Rankings: Monthly League Table](https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/blockchain-revenue-rankings)

Build it in Voltfin Studio: https://app.voltfincrypto.com/signup?next=%2F