All terms
Infrastructure for moving assets between blockchains.
Bridges lock an asset on one chain and mint a representation on another, or use liquidity pools on both sides to swap between them. Either way you are trusting the bridge's security.
Bridges have been the single largest source of losses in crypto, with several individual hacks exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars. Prefer official bridges and move in small amounts.
Use the official Base or Arbitrum bridge rather than an unknown one offering a slightly better rate.
That bridged assets are the same asset. What you hold on the far side is a claim issued by the bridge, backed by whatever it locked. Bridges have been the single largest source of losses in crypto, and the claim is only as good as the bridge.
Common questions
Why are bridges attacked so often?
Is there a safer way to move between chains?
Where to go next
More defi terms
Want this explained out loud?
Some of these land faster in conversation than in writing. Sessions are one to one and you can ask anything, including the things that feel too obvious to ask.