Best Cross-chain bridges available for the Fantom network

Introduction

For reasons that completely elude our understanding, articles and blog posts covering bridges specifically designed for the DAG based Smart contract platform known as the Fantom Network are nearly impossible to find. And therefore it is with a distinct pleasure, and a sense of duty, that we set out to write what we hope will become a reference for crypto curious readers intent on exploring this fascinating sector of the Blockchain Industry.

Our focus today will be limited to those bridges for which there is a sufficient amount of information – in the form of documentation, whitepapers, litepapers and articles. This, unfortunately, eliminates from the outset the aptly named “Fantom Bridge” and Multichain (Multichain.xyz), a potent, two-way bridge that seamlessly connects Fantom to Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Fusion, Heco, Polygon and the xDAI sidechain.

Without further ado, let us dive in right in the heart of this topic.

1. SpookySwap Bridge

Spooky Swap is the largest Decentralized Exchange on the Fantom Network with more than 330 million US Dollars locked. Spooky Swap is a feature rich platform and one of those features happens to be a powerful bridge connecting the Fantom Network to Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain.

What this bridge concretely means for Fantom users, is the possibility for them to partake in Binance Smart Chain’s booming DeFi ecosystem. Linking the Fantom Network to Binance Smart Chain makes complete sense from the point of view of utility for users and expected network synergies.

2. AnySwap Bridge

Every bridge built brings heterogeneous Blockchain Networks one step closer, and anyswap does this with elegance and speed.

The Anyswap bridge is beautifully crafted (we urge our readers to give it a test drive in dark mode). The User Interface is simple (minimal) without being simplistic (a negative in terms of design) – it is so simple in fact that any user with a rudimentary notion of what a bridge is will immediately understand how to operate it. The user experience, thanks to its underlying architecture, cannot be faulted.

But there’s more to this bridge than good looks. It also shines from a technological point of view: it is based on Fusion DCRM (Distributed Control Rights management) technology, and it leverages secure multi-party computation (SMPC) and threshold signature solution (TSS, a type of Multi-Party Computation).

We mentioned Fusion DCRM in passing, however it is such a foundational element of Anyswap’s infrastructure that we should take a quick moment to describe it. Fusion DCRM can basically be defined as a next-generation custodian. Fusion DCRM calls methods designed to transfer the control of digital assets to the Fusion Network.  Thanks to Fusion DCRM, no single Node is able to gain control of digital assets.

This decentralized bridge, secured by Fusion DCRM which exercises control of digital assets at the encryption level, connects Fantom, Avalanche, Polygon, Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain. A bridge such as this one provides exciting opportunities for DeFi experts or DeFi tourists. Thanks to the Anyswap bridge, it is now easy to transfer Fantom Assets to  Binance Smart Chain or Avalanche, and use these assets in applications which are not (yet) available on the Fantom Network.

It is stated that cross chain transfers can take anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes. For very large cross chain transactions, it is possible that a transfer could take up to 24 hours. This might be the biggest downside of this bridge. Users should not expect to receive their assets in seconds on the other side.

3. Xpollinate

Xpollinate leverages Connext’s Nxtp protocol, defined in the project’s documentation as a lightweight method for cross chain transfers.

Xpollinate’s Nxtp protocol is composed of a contract that locks tokens and fulfills transactions once deposit events are detected. Two other elements work alongside this locking contract: a network of off chain routers that help determine pricing and pass call data between chains and a user-side sdk that finds the best routes and prompts on-chain transactions. Xpollinate’s Nxtp protocol is the combination of these three elements.

Xpollinate’s User interface is very clean and transferring assets is as easy as specifying the origin chain, the destination chain, the token and the amount one wishes to transfer. This bridge is the brainchild of Connext, LiFinance and 1Hive, well-known entities in the DeFi ecosystem. 

Users can transfer stablecoins (USDC, USDT, DAI) between multiple EVM compatible chains: Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, xDAI and Fantom).

4. REN VM Bridge

And finally, a word about the Ren VM Bridge.

The Ren VM Bridge is perhaps the most important and perhaps the most potent bridge we will focus on  today. The advent of the Ren VM bridge (still in Beta) is an event in itself as it dramatically boosts Fantom’s cross-chain capabilities.

We have been following the Ren team’s work with a fair amount of interest, as they bring, in a permissionless, decentralized fashion, assets such as Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to a variety of Networks.

The bridging mechanism here is very simple: assets are sent to a smart contract, locked, and a “representation” of the original asset (Ren-assets) is minted on the other side. This mechanism allows assets such as Bitcoin to cross over – Bitcoin, for example, takes the form of RenBTC. These tokenized representations of the original tokens can be redeemed at all times. A bridge such as this one, which allows the slow moving Bitcoin to cross over, is a particularly attractive proposition as it is known that the Fantom Network’s finality is in the 1-2 second range. The Ren V bridge is a fantastic cross chain solution that doesn’t rely on centralized custodians, which introduce an element of Trust which many users find problematic.

This bridge will allow BTC, ZCash, Bitcoin Cash and Dogecoin and more (see below) to cross over, where they can be used in Fantom DeFi applications – something that was technically impossible a few months ago.

At the time of writing, Fantom offers native support for:

• Bitcoin (BTC) / RenBTC
• ZCash (ZEC)/RenZEC
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)/RenBCH
• Dogecoin (DOGE)/RenDOGE
• Digibyte (DGB)/RenDGB
• FileCoin (FIL)/RenFIL
• Terra (LUNA)/RenLUNA