# Why Telepathy?

### **The same security as Ethereum's light client protocol**

Unlike other bridging solutions that exist today, Telepathy is not secured by a [multisig](https://cointelegraph.com/news/multisigs-mean-funds-in-bridges-are-one-small-slipup-from-being-hacked) or an [optimistic fraud system](https://blog.connext.network/optimistic-bridges-fb800dc7b0e0). Instead, Telepathy uses [zkSNARKs](https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/01/26/snarks.html) to efficiently verify Ethereum validator signatures on-chain to validate information about Ethereum state without the need for centralized actors. Because we use a zkSNARK proof to verify the Ethereum light client protocol, Telepathy's security is **the same** as Ethereum's [light client protocol](https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/tree/dev/specs/altair/light-client) itself.

### **Decentralized and Permissionless**

All parts of our system, including our on-chain light client and messaging layer, are designed with the intention of making the protocol decentralized and censorship-resistant. In particular, all the functions used to update the `LightClient` contract are `external` and have no access controls--meaning anyone can generate and send light client updates. Additionally, the entrypoint in the `TelepathyRouter` contract that controls execution of messages (`executeMessageFromLog`) is `external` with no access controls since the smart contract uses the Ethereum light client to verify merkle proofs that show messages were sent on the source chain.

**Developers can use Telepathy and feel safe in knowing that they do not have to trust any centralized actors in operating the protocol, making Telepathy one of the most decentralized, secure and permissionless interoperability protocols on Mainnet today.**

### Our Values

At [Succinct](https://succinct.xyz/), we firmly believe that decentralized, permissionless systems that do not require trust in centralized entities are the foundation of the blockchain substrate. Security is defined by the weakest link and the current state of interchain messaging leaves a lot to be desired. If we are building the foundations of a new global financial system, it is unacceptable to rely on a small subset of centralized actors for such a mission-critical component. The status quo of permissioned multisigs is broken and unsustainable for the long-term future of the crypto industry as a whole.

The launch of our zkSNARK Ethereum light client powering Telepathy is only the first-step in a long journey. At Succinct, our mission is to build an interoperability hyperstructure: an unstoppable, permissionless, credibly neutral and no-compromise interoperability protocol, controlled by no one company or entity.

The blockchain space is one of the few opportunities teams have to build a protocol that lasts beyond the confines of a company or even beyond any one lifetime. We want to build an interoperability protocol that lives for as long as Ethereum itself.