Bridge / bridge crossing
A blockchain bridge connects two blockchains so that information and assets can move between them. ethereum.org says three ways stand out: lock assets on the source chain and mint on the destination, burn on the source and mint on the destination, or swap assets with another party atomically. Trusted bridges rely on an external set of verifiers, while trustless bridges rely on the connected chains and their validators. Circle's CCTP moves USDC across chains by burn-and-mint without bridge liquidity pools.
What the sources say
| Source | Quote | Link |
|---|---|---|
| ethereum.org: what bridges are | "Just as a physical bridge connects two physical locations, a blockchain bridge connects two blockchain ecosystems. Bridges facilitate communication between blockchains through the transfer of information and assets." | ethereum.org |
| ethereum.org developers: three methods | "Lock and mint – Lock assets on the source chain and mint assets on the destination chain. Burn and mint – Burn assets on the source chain and mint assets on the destination chain. Atomic swaps – Swap assets on the source chain for assets on the destination chain with another party." | ethereum.org |
| ethereum.org developers: trusted bridges | "Trusted – Trusted bridges are externally verified. They use an external set of verifiers (Federations with multi-sig, multi-party computation systems, oracle network) to send data across chains." | ethereum.org |
| ethereum.org developers: trustless bridges | "Trustless – These bridges rely on the blockchains they are connecting and their validators to transfer messages and tokens." | ethereum.org |
| Circle CCTP docs: burn-and-mint | "CCTP natively transfers USDC across blockchains using burn-and-mint, and extends to EURC and registered third-party assets through CCTP for non-USDC, all without traditional bridge liquidity pools." | developers.circle.com |
| ethereum.org developers: three ways stand out | "While there are many types of bridge designs (opens in a new tab), three ways to facilitate the cross-chain transfer of assets stand out:" | ethereum.org |
Related terms
See also
- Explainer: What is a bridge crossing, and why is it two transactions?
- Review: revain.org/projects/across/
- Review: revain.org/projects/debridge/
- Review: revain.org/projects/stargate/
- Review: revain.org/projects/mayan/
- Review: revain.org/projects/wormhole/
- Review: revain.org/projects/layerzero/
Checked against the sources on 2026-11-01.
revain.org
- revain.org/projects/across/
- revain.org/projects/debridge/
- revain.org/projects/stargate/
- revain.org/projects/mayan/
- revain.org/projects/wormhole/
- revain.org/projects/layerzero/