What is a bridge?
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 5 min
In short
A bridge lets an asset on one blockchain be used on another, usually by locking it on the source chain and minting an equivalent token on the destination. It is also the part of the ecosystem where the largest exploits have concentrated.
Key points
- Moves value between separate blockchains
- Typically locks on the source and mints on the destination
- What you receive is a claim, not the original asset
- Repeatedly the target of very large exploits
Definition
A mechanism for moving assets or data between separate blockchains, most often by combining a deposit on the source chain with an issuance on the destination.
Chains are independent, so ETH on Ethereum cannot simply be sent to Solana. A bridge locks the ETH in an Ethereum contract and mints a representative token on Solana, then reverses that to bring it back.
What matters is that the token you receive is a claim on locked assets, not the asset itself. If the custody contract or the operator is compromised, the claim loses its backing. Several bridges have lost sums in the hundreds of millions of dollars this way.
Newer designs verify cross-chain state cryptographically instead of custodying it, or hold liquidity on both sides and swap. The risk sits in different places depending on the design, so it is worth knowing which one you are using — and sending a small test amount before the real one.
Watch out for
- · Bridges account for some of the largest losses in the ecosystem
- · The token you receive loses its backing if the issuer fails
- · Choose the wrong destination network and recovery may be impossible