Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
For all the hype around blockchain, many enterprises remain hesitant to make the leap. The hesitation is not about whether blockchain has potential. It is about risk. Most blockchain projects today require committing to a single chain, which is placing a long-term bet on a rapidly shifting market. If the chosen chain fails, becomes too expensive to operate on or is outpaced by competitors, that investment could quickly unravel.
The result is that countless pilots never progress to full-scale deployment. Enterprises stall, developers burn time rewriting code, and innovation slows. Since 2021, over $2.8 billion has been lost to exploits on bridges that were meant to connect ecosystems, highlighting just how fragile current “interoperability” solutions are. Instead of accelerating adoption, fragmentation and lock-in have become two of the biggest barriers holding back blockchain.
The real cost of chain lock-in
Single-chain strategies create hidden costs that compound over time. When enterprises commit to a single blockchain, they inherit not only its current limitations but also all its future uncertainties. Gas fees can spike unexpectedly, making operations prohibitively expensive. Network congestion can degrade user experience at critical moments. Regulatory changes can force sudden pivots that require months of redevelopment.
Consider the enterprises that built exclusively on Ethereum during the 2021 bull run, only to watch transaction costs soar above $100 per interaction. Many were forced to halt operations or scramble to migrate to alternative chains, burning resources that could have been invested in product development instead. This pattern repeats across the industry: promising projects derailed not by market conditions or product-market fit, but by the technical constraints of their chosen blockchain.
Why interoperability matters
True interoperability solves this problem by eliminating the false choice between chains. When applications can run across ecosystems without constant rewrites or risky workarounds, the cost and complexity of blockchain projects drop dramatically. Enterprises gain the flexibility to meet users wherever they are. Developers can focus on building products rather than spending months learning the quirks of every individual chain.
This approach also future-proofs investments. As new chains emerge with improved performance or specialized features, interoperable applications can expand to capture those benefits without having to start from scratch. The question shifts from “Which chain will win?” to “How can we leverage the best of each ecosystem?”
This principle of building once and deploying everywhere is what will bring blockchain out of experimental silos and into mainstream business adoption.
What enterprises gain
For enterprises, interoperability is not a “nice to have” but a strategic necessity. By ensuring projects can operate across multiple chains, organizations avoid being locked into a single ecosystem. They can adapt as regulations shift, new technologies emerge or user bases migrate between platforms. This flexibility is essential for long-term planning and scalability.
Interoperability also enables enterprises to optimize for specific use cases. A company might use Ethereum for high-value transactions requiring maximum security, Solana for high-frequency trading applications and Cosmos for specialized financial instruments. With true cross-chain capability, these aren’t separate projects but components of a unified strategy.
What developers gain
For Web2 developers exploring blockchain, interoperability removes a major barrier to entry. Instead of needing to master each chain’s programming languages, development tools and architectural quirks, they can build using familiar workflows and established patterns. This reduces ramp-up time from months to weeks, accelerates product delivery and allows developer teams to focus on user experience and functionality rather than protocol minutiae.
The productivity gains are substantial. Teams can prototype on one chain, scale on another and optimize across multiple ecosystems without rewriting core business logic. This approach lets developers leverage their existing skills while gradually building blockchain expertise, making the transition more manageable and less risky.
The bigger picture
At an industry level, interoperability will unlock the full potential of tokenized assets, decentralized finance and blockchain-based products across ecosystems. It will accelerate time to market from months to days, reduce integration costs and open doors for enterprises that have remained on the sidelines due to technical complexity.
The network effects are powerful. As more applications become interoperable, the overall ecosystem becomes more valuable to users, who no longer face the friction of managing multiple wallets, bridges and interfaces. This seamless experience is crucial for mainstream adoption.
Actionable steps for business leaders
For blockchain to deliver real value, leaders must treat interoperability as a core requirement rather than an afterthought. Here are concrete steps to get started:
-
Set interoperability as a non-negotiable requirement when evaluating blockchain vendors, platforms or responding to RFPs. Ask specific questions about cross-chain capabilities during the selection process.
-
Plan around business outcomes such as time to launch, user reach and cost efficiency, instead of tying success metrics to performance on a single chain.
-
Encourage developers to design for portability from day one, ensuring projects can evolve as the ecosystem changes and new opportunities emerge.
-
Hold partners accountable by asking detailed questions about how their frameworks support cross-chain expansion and prevent vendor lock-in scenarios.
-
Start small but think big by launching pilots that demonstrate interoperability benefits before committing to large-scale deployments.
The way forward
Blockchain’s potential is not in doubt, but its adoption has been slowed by fragmentation and technical barriers that force unnecessary trade-offs. Interoperability addresses both challenges by giving enterprises and developers the freedom to build comprehensive solutions rather than fragmented, experimental solutions.
By embracing the principle of building once and deploying everywhere, organizations can finally move beyond the limitations of individual chains and focus on what truly matters: delivering products and services that create measurable value for users and stakeholders.
Those who embrace interoperability today will be best positioned to capture tomorrow’s opportunities as blockchain evolves from an experimental technology to an essential infrastructure.
For all the hype around blockchain, many enterprises remain hesitant to make the leap. The hesitation is not about whether blockchain has potential. It is about risk. Most blockchain projects today require committing to a single chain, which is placing a long-term bet on a rapidly shifting market. If the chosen chain fails, becomes too expensive to operate on or is outpaced by competitors, that investment could quickly unravel.
The result is that countless pilots never progress to full-scale deployment. Enterprises stall, developers burn time rewriting code, and innovation slows. Since 2021, over $2.8 billion has been lost to exploits on bridges that were meant to connect ecosystems, highlighting just how fragile current “interoperability” solutions are. Instead of accelerating adoption, fragmentation and lock-in have become two of the biggest barriers holding back blockchain.
