Cross-chain bridge

A cross-chain bridge lets you move tokens or data from one blockchain to another, for example from Ethereum to Arbitrum, or from Ethereum to Solana. Since blockchains cannot natively read each other, most bridges work by locking tokens on the source chain and minting an equivalent wrapped token on the destination, or by using pools of liquidity on both sides.

Bridges are essential to a multi-chain world but have been among the most attacked pieces of crypto infrastructure. Major hacks include Ronin Bridge (about $625 million, March 2022), Wormhole (about $320 million, February 2022) and Nomad (about $190 million, August 2022). When a bridge is drained, the wrapped tokens it issued can lose their backing.

Prefer a chain's official or canonical bridge, or well-established bridges with long track records and audits. Always check the destination network and token contract, start with a small amount and never use a bridge link received in a direct message.