Exploring Blockchain Interoperability: Frameworks, Use Cases, and Future Challenges

Blockchain adoption across industries has led to the emergence of multiple independent blockchain platforms, creating challenges for cross-chain data exchange and system interoperability. This paper addresses this challenge by examining interoperability frameworks that enable communication between heterogeneous blockchain networks. We adopt a platform-oriented analysis to study widely used blockchain ecosystems, focusing on the mechanisms they employ for cross-chain communication and asset transfer. To demonstrate practical applicability, we present a conceptual supply chain scenario that illustrates how interoperable architectures enable interactions among multiple blockchain entities. Finally, we identify key open research challenges, including data management, cross-chain query processing, privacy, governance, scalability, and protocol standardisation. The findings highlight both the capabilities and limitations of existing interoperability solutions and outline directions for future research.