Cross-Chain Bridges
Plain English
Systems that let you move assets between different blockchains. Like currency exchanges that let you convert dollars to euros. Bridges lock your tokens on one chain and mint equivalent tokens on another chain.
Technical
Protocols enabling asset and data transfer between different blockchain networks. Lock-and-mint bridges secure assets on origin chain and mint wrapped representations on destination chain. Validator-based bridges use trusted parties, while trustless bridges rely on cryptographic proofs. Bridge risk includes smart contract vulnerabilities and validator set attacks.