Canonical bridge

Omni Bridge (NEAR)

Omni Bridge is NEAR's official bridge, developed by NEAR One as the successor to Rainbow Bridge (launched in 2021). It connects NEAR with Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, Zcash, Base, Arbitrum, BNB Chain and Polygon.

Official website

How it works

1You connect a NEAR wallet and a wallet on the other network in the bridge app and choose the token.
2Transfers out of NEAR are signed by Chain Signatures, NEAR's network of validators that jointly sign transactions for other blockchains (MPC).
3Transfers into NEAR are verified differently depending on the network: by a light client for Ethereum, Bitcoin and Zcash, and through Wormhole for Solana, Base, Arbitrum, BNB Chain and Polygon.

Trust model

Outgoing transfers rely on the NEAR validators running Chain Signatures. Incoming transfers from Ethereum, Bitcoin and Zcash are checked by light clients, which verify the other chain's blocks; for Solana and the EVM networks other than Ethereum you also trust Wormhole's guardians.

Strengths

Official NEAR route, built on Rainbow Bridge, which has run since 2021.
Chain Signatures make transfers out of NEAR much faster than the old Rainbow Bridge, where NEAR to Ethereum took 4 to 8 hours.
Supports Bitcoin and Zcash in addition to EVM networks and Solana.

Limitations

The security model differs by network; routes through Wormhole add a third party.
Bridged tokens on NEAR are wrapped versions, not the original assets.
Requires a NEAR wallet, whose accounts differ from Ethereum addresses.