What is a crypto bridge

A crypto bridge is a service that lets you move value from one blockchain to another, since most chains can't talk to each other directly. It matters because your favorite app or cheap gas fees might live on a different chain than your assets, and a bridge is usually the only way to get there without selling to cash first.

Here's how it typically works: you send your original coins to the bridge, which locks or burns them, then mints an equivalent bridged token on the destination chain. For example, sending ETH from Ethereum to Arbitrum through its official bridge locks your ETH on Ethereum and credits you the same amount on Arbitrum. The catch is that bridges have been frequent hacking targets, so check whether one is audited and how long it's operated before trusting it with real funds.