What is a Cross-Chain Bridge?
A cross-chain bridge is a decentralized application that allows users to migrate tokens from one blockchain to another, with one of its major advantages being the reduction in costs and time expended.
For example, if you want to transfer your Ethereum (ETH) from your Fox Wallet to the Arbitrum blockchain, the usual process might involve multiple steps, such as sending ETH back to a centralized exchange (CEX) and then moving it to Arbitrum. This process can entail multiple transactions and waiting times. However, cross-chain bridges provide a solution to this problem.
How to Use a Cross-Chain Bridge
Direct Integration with Fox Wallet
Bridging Your Assets
First, you'll need to connect your wallet and grant permissions as per the provided steps.
Select "From This Network": the blockchain you want to send tokens from (e.g., Ethereum) and "To This Network": the blockchain where you want to receive tokens (e.g., Optimism).
Choose the token and input the amount you want to send. Typically, you will receive a slightly reduced amount, excluding transaction fees.
Select the transfer chain and receive the tokens, specifying the amount of the token you wish to transfer.
You can navigate through different routes to transfer tokens using Fox Wallet and select an alternative route by clicking "Choose a Different Quote."
In this list, Fox Wallet recommends several bridge service providers and provides estimates of gas fees and the expected time for asset reception on other networks.
Below the "Bridge" option, you will receive information about the total amount required for the transaction. Therefore, you need to prepare approximately $17 to bridge $14 worth of ETH to Optimism. Click "Confirm" to confirm the transaction.
Other Popular Cross-Chain Bridges
Stargate Finance
Stargate Finance is a cross-chain solution built on the LayerZero platform, enabling users to seamlessly transact tokens across multiple different chains.
Stargate Finance is compatible with various blockchain platforms such as Ethereum, Optimism, Polygon, Arbitrum, Fantom, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and more. In addition to providing token transfer bridges for many different chains, Stargate Finance offers numerous other products, including swapping, adding liquidity pools, mining, and staking STG.
Orbiter Finance
Orbiter Finance is a decentralized bridge designed specifically for asset transfers between Layer 2 solutions. Orbiter supports transactions between Ethereum, StarkNet, zkSync, Loopring, Arbitrum, Arbitrum Nova, Optimism, Polygon, BNB Chain, ZKSpace, Immutable X, DYDX, METIS, and Boba.
When using Orbiter, you will encounter terms like "Sender" and "Maker." The actual sender is the user who wants to send tokens from the source network. The tokens will be transferred to the Maker (intermediary). Once the Maker receives the sent tokens, they will be sent to the Sender on the destination network.
Unlike with Fox Wallet, you typically input the amount you want to bridge first, and Orbiter will provide information regarding gas fees and the total amount required for the transaction. Therefore, you must manually adjust the amount to be transferred to ensure there are enough fees.
When bridging with Orbiter, if you choose to transfer the maximum token amount, the bridge will first reserve and dispense the corresponding number of tokens.
For example, if I have 0.009934 ETH and want to transfer this amount to Arbitrum, after connecting my wallet and going through the transaction steps, when I choose the "Max" token option, Orbiter will automatically calculate and provide 0.00762 ETH. This is the amount of tokens I will receive on Arbitrum.
Bungee Exchange
Bungee Exchange is a versatile bridge that allows users to integrate and migrate 1INCH tokens across various paths, including Stargate Finance. The primary feature of this bridge is to assist users in finding the best path with lower fees and minimal price fluctuations for token transfers.
The steps to build a bridge on Bungee are similar to those in the aforementioned sections. The difference is that with Bungee, you have more transaction options, such as bridging the same token between two different chains.
