What is a bridge, and is it risky?

A way to represent an asset from one chain on another. Historically one of the largest single sources of losses.

Chains cannot talk to each other. A bridge fakes it: you lock an asset on one network and a representation of it is issued on another. The representation is only worth something because the original is locked somewhere and somebody can be trusted to release it.

That somewhere is a large pile of assets with a single set of rules protecting it, which is why bridges have been among the largest hacks in the industry's history — hundreds of millions in single incidents.

Practical implications. Prefer moving through an exchange when you simply want an asset on another chain — deposit on one network, withdraw on another. If you do use a bridge, use one with a long record and check that the version you are on is the real one, since cloned bridge sites are a standard trap.

Bridge and wrapped token define the parts.

Last checked 19 Oct 2026.