An experienced player told me he never wants to deal with bridges again. Last week, he got stuck on a bridge with a transaction of ETH pending for three hours, and then the market crashed, causing his contract position to explode without time to add margin. "Cross-chain stuff, only those who use it know," he sighed. I told him there's a new protocol called @0xSoulProtocol that allows cross-chain lending without needing a bridge. He was skeptical: "If you don't bridge assets, how do you cross?" I said, "Use message synchronization instead of moving assets." After a few seconds of silence, he replied, "If this can really run smoothly, then the entire DeFi landscape will need to be redrawn." 1/ Recently, Soul Labs released Protocol Update #1, clearly stating that it will provide the community with timely updates on its progress in multi-chain lending in the form of "quarterly synchronization work progress." I think this signal is very important—because "talking a lot" is not as good as "real feedback," and the update mechanism reflects the team's willingness to be "seen." 2/ In this update, there was a detail that could easily be overlooked: the team mentioned that "the code for the cross-chain messaging layer and liquidation module has entered the freeze period, and final audits & backtesting are underway"—this means that going live is not just about "deploying contracts" but also putting "operational reliability" on the agenda. The developers believe that these small details often determine whether a project can survive. 3/ From the user perspective, I've observed that some early testers have shared screenshots online of "Ethereum asset collateral + Arbitrum loan combinations" (although the number is still small, it indicates that the process is taking shape). This makes me more inclined to believe that Soul is not "still in planning" but is genuinely conducting product testing. 4/ However, the attack surface has also increased: 🔹 If cross-chain message confirmation is delayed too much, liquidation triggers may lag → User positions are under pressure. 🔹 If the logic of the liquidation module fails under different states of multi-chain synchronization → Risks multiply. The developers remind everyone: this is not about "who gets liquidated" in traditional lending protocols, but rather "which chain fails to synchronize." There are more risk factors. 5/ Regarding the token SO, I've noticed two things: ① The community is discussing whether the final conversion ratio from Seeds to SO will shrink, due to early rewards being high and less lock-up at launch. ② Whether the token economy is truly linked to module operations: in simple terms, if the lending/liquidation module has insufficient usage after going live, the value chain of SO will weaken. The developers judge that if in the first month on the mainnet, key data such as the number of lending combinations, position sizes, and yields do not grow quickly, SO is likely to be seen as a "narrative token" rather than an "economic token." 6/ From a macro perspective, Soul is taking the path of a "multi-chain lending unified layer" rather than single-chain lending. This path seems to have more future potential, but it also means higher thresholds: the protocol needs to operate more chains, integrate with more underlying protocols, and handle more state synchronization and liquidation logic. The developers' view is that only projects that "move slowly but steadily" can survive in such complexity. Rapid launches and aggressive expansions may instead hide risks. 7/ Therefore, as KOLs or community content creators, I advise everyone: 🔹 Look at "before launch": code freeze, audit progress, testing data feedback. 🔹 Look at "at launch": number of lending combinations in the first week on the mainnet, cross-chain success rate, liquidation speed. 🔹 Look at "after launch": whether there is secondary growth (new links, new protocol integrations, new business models launched). The developers emphasize: the first three weeks are a barometer. If performance is mediocre, market sentiment can easily cool down. 8/ To summarize in one sentence: @0xSoulProtocol is not about "how much funding I borrowed again," but about "when I cross-chain lend, does it feel like operating on a single chain?" If the experience is poor and asset operations are fragmented, then even with many users, it will be hard to retain them. The developers believe that this unification of experience is the next turning point for DeFi. If Soul can grasp this, it will not just be a protocol but could become the "infrastructure for multi-chain lending." But if it drops the ball, it will be a narrative failure.