Classifying Cross-chain Bridges Part 1: Execution

Cross-chain bridges have grown to become an integral part of blockchain infrastructure in recent years, enabling asset interoperability and ease of capital transfer between otherwise disparate and siloed blockchains. Over $26 billion worth of digital assets are locked in Ethereum escrow contracts for porting assets into alternative layer-1 chains and layer-2 scaling solutions, with an increasing amount of value flowing into optimistic rollups.

With an increasing number of blockchains come more bridges, both native and third-party, with many various designs and trust assumptions. These differences massively impact the user experience.