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Bridging

The Problem with Bridges

Bridging is the dominant crosschain primitive today — and one of the most dangerous. Bridge exploits have resulted in over $2 billion in losses between 2020 and 2023, with more since.

Structurally, bridges create risk because:

  • They concentrate liquidity in pool contracts — large targets for exploits
  • They require users to trust the bridge operator's security model
  • They introduce long confirmation delays
  • They require users to hold native gas tokens on both chains

CrossCall doesn't replace bridges by building a better pool. It eliminates the pool entirely.


How CrossCall Handles Bridging

CrossCall bridges are atomic P2P transfers between a solver and a user.

The execution flow for a bridge request is a simple asset transfer from the signer's SCW to their EOA on the destination chain:

// Bridge request calldata (native asset transfer)
// Transfers from signer's SCW → user's EOA on destination chain

0xb61d27f6
000000000000000000000000[target_address]
[amount_in_32_bytes]
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0006
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000

The solver executes this on the destination chain. The solver is then paid from the user's escrow on the origin chain via Hyperlane — atomically.


Risk Profile Comparison

Traditional BridgeCrossCall
Liquidity modelPooled (centralized target)Per-transaction solver (P2P)
User riskBridge pool exploit, operator riskSolver reorg risk (borne by solver, not user)
SpeedMinutes to hoursImmediate (solver-fronted)
Native token requiredYes, on both chainsNo
Confirmation requiredYesNo

With CrossCall, the risk of a bridge exploit shifts entirely. There is no pool. The solver bears the marginal execution risk, and the solver payout is cryptographically guaranteed. Users are not exposed to hack risk.

Solver Reorg Risk

Solvers are theoretically exposed to chain reorg risk — a destination chain reorg could reverse a solver's execution after the Hyperlane payout has already settled. This risk is borne by the solver, not the user, and can be managed through solver-side reorg monitoring.


Protocol Integration

Protocols can offer CrossCall-powered bridging by composing a bridge request and submitting it to the CrossCall API. See the CrossCall API reference → for full request format details.