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Another layer-2 network has entered the scaling game with the promise of fast and low-cost asset transfers. Celer’s new cBridge provides EVM compatibility, allowing users to send assets to and from the likes of Ethereum and Polygon. BSC and Arbitrum are also supported in v1.0 of cBridge.
The release of Celer’s maiden bridge will open the floodgates for a slew of ERC20 tokens being ported onto L2 networks where they can be traded quickly and cheaply, as well as utilized for yield farming and other defi applications.
The Future Is Multi-Chain
For defi, 2021 will go down as the year when true cross-chain compatibility was achieved. Thanks to AMMs such as SushiSwap, which now supports around a dozen EVM-compatible chains, and a spate of independent bridge building, moving assets between networks has never been easier. Celer’s cBridge will give traders and developers an opportunity to explore what the L2 landscape has to offer in terms of UX, cost, and speed.
One of the biggest selling points of cBridge is likely to be its support for Arbitrum straight out the gate. With Ethereum L2s now supporting fellow Eth L2s, the bridged ecosystem is getting extremely meta. From a user perspective, however, the ability to experiment with new networks and to transfer assets via a single bridge instead of many is a godsend.
”As an open-source platform with the mission to bring blockchain adoption to mainstream, our goal with cBridge is to deliver a high-performance and cost-efficient interoperable value transfer network with no compromise on the security or trust-free guarantee,” said Celer Network co-founder Dr. Mo Dong. He added, “We will continue to support and facilitate projects that build on top of our solutions.”
Celer Comes of Age
Celer Network first caught the crypto community’s attention when its IEO was announced on Binance in 2019. Like all of the platform’s Initial Exchange Offerings, Celer’s token sale sold out fast, with the native CELR token then listed on Binance and added to multiple global exchanges.
Like other scaling networks that were birthed in a similar manner around the same time (e.g. Matic, now Polygon), the community has had to wait patiently for Celer’s infrastructure to be built out. Now, those users who participated in Celer’s token sale two years ago, as well as the many more who have entered the industry since, will have a chance to see what the L2 scaling solution is capable of achieving.
cBridge has been designed with user experience paramount. Its interface resembles that of a classic DEX, with the ability to connect a web wallet such as MetaMask and then move assets between chains in just a couple of clicks.
Bridge Over the River Gwei
Bridging solutions are seen as essential in helping Ethereum to scale, by driving down the number of main chain transactions, and in giving users the means to move to L2s. At present, however, moving assets between non-compatible chains, such as Arbitrum and Polygon, requires users to send funds to Ethereum and pass through two bridges.
With the release of cBridge, it will become possible to move between various L2s and sidechains without having to touch Ethereum. This will speed up transfers by a matter of hours or even days as well as driving down costs. It has been estimated that cBridge will reduce the cost of moving between chains by as much as 1,000x, allowing liquidity to flow freely.