Q2 Cross-Chain Bridge Recap

Cross-chain bridges have become ubiquitous in the crypto economy, providing crucial links between the largest sources of on-chain capital and the many blockchains that continue to emerge. For the most part, bridges today exist as either two-chain bridges or multi-chain bridges, which differ in both their intent and implementation. Two-chain bridges act as official channels between two chains and typically utilize a lock-and-mint mechanism, while multi-chain bridges are becoming more akin to cross-chain automated market makers (AMMs), utilizing cross-chain liquidity pools to facilitate bridging transactions. Both types of bridges are useful indicators for the movement of users and capital between chains, as well as the state of cross-chain infrastructure and decentralized finance (DeFi). 

In this quarterly look at the cross-chain bridge landscape, we break down some of the major trends seen across bridge protocols for both Layer 1s (L1s) and Layer 2s (L2s), which supplement our monthly in-depth analyses of L1 and L2 ecosystems.