Cross-Chain Bridge

A cross-chain bridge is a protocol that lets you move assets or data from one blockchain to another. Because blockchains are independent systems with no native awareness of each other, there is no built-in way to take an asset on Ethereum and use it on Solana, or vice versa. A bridge solves this by locking the asset on its home chain and issuing a corresponding “wrapped” version on the destination chain — effectively representing the same value in a form the new network can understand.

The most common approach: you send your ETH to a bridge smart contract on Ethereum, which holds it as collateral. The bridge then mints an equivalent amount of “wrapped ETH” on the destination chain, which you can now use freely in that ecosystem. When you want your original ETH back, you burn the wrapped version and the bridge releases your locked ETH on Ethereum. Bridges have become a major security target — because they often hold enormous amounts of locked assets in smart contracts, they present an attractive target for hackers. Some of the largest hacks in crypto history — including exploits of Ronin Bridge and Wormhole — have targeted cross-chain bridges, resulting in losses of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Example: Imagine a cross-chain bridge like a currency exchange booth at an international airport. You hand over your US dollars, they hold onto them, and give you the equivalent in euros that you can spend in Europe. When you return, you can exchange your leftover euros back. The booth holds your dollars in reserve the whole time — which is why, if the booth gets robbed, everyone who has euros loses their backing.