Bridges have big problems — How can cross-chain swaps be quicker and safer?

cointelegraph.com:

A big problem when transferring assets from one blockchain to another concerns bridges. Between 2020 and 2022, data from Token Terminal revealed that more than $2.5 billion had been stolen by hackers — all because of vulnerabilities within bridge infrastructure.

In some cases, inadequate levels of security were to blame. The Ronin bridge — responsible for powering the popular Axie Infinity game — suffered an exploit worth over $600 million last year, which took six days to detect, but this wasn’t the only problem. At the time, the bridge operated with nine validator nodes, and just five signatures were needed to initiate withdrawals, a hurdle that the attacker managed to overcome.

Even if security concerns are dealt with, there can be other limitations. Bridges may only support a small number of tokens, and because each platform operates slightly differently, end users may have to contend with a few added steps before a swap is finalized, which is not ideal when a transaction needs to be completed in a hurry.

For cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance to become more widely adopted, it’s crucial for the user experience to be more streamlined and as intuitive as more old-fashioned platforms. Delivering cross-chain swaps in a couple of clicks would eliminate headaches for users and make it easier to onboard new consumers. Better still, ensuring people retain custody of their crypto at all times.

The final issue that needs to be resolved concerns pricing. Volatile crypto markets mean the price of flagship cryptocurrencies is continually changing — and this means the providers of cross-chain swaps need to scour the industry to deliver the best possible deal.

Magpie is one of the projects tackling the pain points associated