Multi-Chain Transaction Routing Mechanisms for Cross-Platform Payment Settlement in Blockchain

Abstract

Cross-chain interoperability has become a foundational requirement for scalable decentralized finance (DeFi) as asset flows increasingly span heterogeneous blockchain ecosystems. Traditional siloed networks impose constraints such as settlement fragmentation, redundant confirmation cycles, and inconsistent fee structures, collectively limiting large-scale adoption of multi-chain financial applications. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a novel multi-chain transaction routing mechanism designed for secure, deterministic, and cost-efficient payment settlement across Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and Polygon testnets. The proposed system integrates Hashed TimeLock Contracts (HTLCs) with a relay-mediated communication layer responsible for cross-chain message verification, transaction ordering, and adaptive route selection. A simulation-based benchmarking framework is developed to evaluate settlement latency, routing overhead, and security guarantees under adversarial conditions. Results indicate that the mechanism reduces settlement fragmentation by over 35% and lowers average routing cost by dynamically selecting optimal settlement paths based on real-time network states. Furthermore, the HTLC-based atomicity model ensures that route failures do not compromise transaction integrity. Overall, the proposed architecture demonstrates substantial improvements in interoperability, routing resilience, and operational efficiency, making it highly suitable for next-generation cross-chain payment infrastructures.