In this paper, we present VERTEX, a TEE-based layer-2 solution that tackles two crucial challenges in the realm of cryptocurrencies: off-chain payments and cross-chain swaps. It offers three notable features: - Channel-free off-chain payments: it allows a payer to make direct payments to anyone without requiring any on-chain relationship or intermediary channels. - Real-time yet decentralized cross-chain swaps: it is the first known solution that enables real-time cross-chain swaps without relying on a central server. This novel feature is made possible through a ground-breaking fair exchange protocol. - TEE crash-tolerance: it offers two solutions to handle TEE crashes, one of which involves an innovative application of time-lock puzzles in this context. We evaluate ECHO on a network consists of 1000 nodes and the evaluation results show that ECHO can achieve 7000 TPS

翻译：本文提出VERTEX——一种基于可信执行环境（TEE）的第二层解决方案，旨在应对加密货币领域的两大核心挑战：链下支付与跨链交换。该方案具备三大显著特性：-免通道链下支付：允许付款方直接向任意接收方发起支付，无需预先建立链上关联或中介通道；-实时去中心化跨链交换：首次实现无需依赖中央服务器的实时跨链交换，该创新功能通过突破性的公平交换协议得以实现；-TEE崩溃容错机制：针对TEE崩溃问题提出两种解决方案，其中创新性地运用了时间锁谜题技术。我们基于1000个节点组成的网络对ECHO进行性能评估，结果显示其吞吐量可达7000 TPS。