A blockchain bridge is a protocol solution that facilitates token transfer between different blockchain networks. So, TON bridges are decentralized applications (dApps) where one can send TON tokens to another chain—or vice versa. They are different from TON swaps, which enable the exchange of different TON tokens but cannot bridge to another chain.
Let’s start with bridging mechanism basics, and then proceed to the top TON bridges.
Basics of TON Bridging
Bridging to TON network includes seamless asset transfer from another blockchain to TON, or from TON to another blockchain. In both cases, the mechanism is the same.
What is a TON bridge?
Despite different security architectures and smart contract peculiarities, all bridges work similarly. Let’s look at their action algorithm.
- A user initiates the transfer by sending assets to a bridge dApp on the source blockchain, where they are locked or frozen.
- The bridge protocol registers the deposit and sends a secure message to the corresponding smart contract on the destination blockchain.
- A smart contract on the destination blockchain mints the corresponding asset on the destination chain, based on the market prices of each asset and maintaining a 1:1 ratio with the locked original. The bridge fee should also be paid.
The fee varies greatly among different bridge protocols. It also depends on the network condition: as with all transactions, congestions lead to increased fees.
Why use a TON bridge?
Often, asset bridging is substantially cheaper compared to exchange. While similar, this process leads to direct asset transfer via the bridge protocol. During that, one asset is locked and another minted, rather than exchanging them. Therefore, it may be more convenient to use a bridging protocol.
We’ll overview five of them here:
- TON Bridge
- UtyabSwap Bridge
- Layerswap
- Symbiosis
- Rubic
As we’ll see, they are different in terms of bridge fees, supported chains, and overall convenience of use.
One can summarize the bridging mechanism by looking at the scheme below. It’s provided for Ethereum, but the situation is similar for TON and shows how to bridge TON from the technical point of view.
Source: Coinpedia
While The Open Network is highly useful for some purposes, especially considering its Telegram integration, sometimes you may need tokens on other chains. Whether you want to use DeFi on Solana or play a game on Ethereum, you need to send funds to them, if you have TON. And conversely, if you want to send money to your Telegram contact, you need TON.
How to Bridge to TON
So, let’s see how TON bridges empower the crypto industry
Steps to Bridge to TON Network
To bridge on TON, one needs to choose an appropriate bridge app and select the network of the destination. Therefore, one needs both a TON and a destination blockchain wallet. Let’s look at the algorithm, and then explore popular examples of TON bridges.
- Find a TON bridge that supports the chain of destination and connect the TON wallet. Please note that it may not support the exact token that should be bridged. In this case, one should swap to the supported token first, using one of the TON swaps.
- Select the token on the destination chain and specify the destination chain wallet. The app will calculate the amount of funds arriving and the approximate fee.
- Initiate the exchange. The funds typically arrive in 5–10 minutes.
The Open Network is quite a young chain, so its infrastructure is mostly in development. Many bridges are young and not all tokens may be supported. The best way to check it out is to find an app’s community and ask its developers and users directly.
Popular Tools for Bridging on TON
As TON develops, new bridges arise, while established ones add TON and its tokens as supported chains. It includes BNB to TON bridge, ETH to TON bridge, and others. Here, we’ll overview five examples of such bridges, focusing on their chains, specialization, and peculiarities.
Please note that we include only tools required to bridge TON that work on the algorithm described above. Some of them also have decentralized exchange (DEX) or swap features, but we’ll focus specifically on bridging.
Top Bridges on TON
Let’s now focus on TON bridge solutions and determine which ones are the best in which situations.
TON Bridge
Chains: 3 (Ethereum, BSC, TON)
Fees: High
Link: https://bridge.ton.org/
This is an official The Open Network bridge, supported by the TON Community. As for 2024, it supports only Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain transactions and has quite a large bridge fee. Still, it can be used to bridge native TON tokens to these two EVM chains.
Source: TON Bridge
While being the first and official bridge, it has high fees compared to other examples.
Be cautious about potential phishing links that impersonate TON Bridge or other DeFi applications! Use only official links, double-check link addresses, and report to developers about any impersonating websites.
UtyabSwap Bridge
Chains: more than 10, one-sided
Fees: Medium
Link: https://utyabswap.com/bridge
This TON blockchain bridge is among the new solutions that emerged in 2024. It was audited by Certik, which proves its security. Originally being a swap dApp for TON memecoins, now it has a bridge solution that allows one to send tokens from various chains to TON.
UtyabSwap doesn't publish a specific list of supported protocols, but according to its interface, there are more than 10 of them, including Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Solana, Tron, Base, Blast, and Bitcoin.
Source: UtyabSwap
It has high bridge fees and all its transactions are one-sided. You can bridge multiple other chains to TON, but not vice versa. Therefore, while being useful in specific cases, UtyabSwap is quite limited.
Layerswap
Chains: 2 (TON, Ethereum)
Fees: Low
Link: https://layerswap.io/app
This tool supports many different chains and is among the long-standing players in the DeFi market. While recently it also added TON chain bridge functionality, for now, it supports only Ethereum bridging.
One cannot make TON to SOL bridge or even bridge USDT to TON with it, so its functionality as a TON bridge remains limited. Still, it has very good rates compared to most other applications, as one may see below.
Source: Layerswap
Therefore, Layerswap is a good choice if you need to bridge TON to Ethereum without large losses, either to exchange tokens or for your dApp.
Symbiosis
Chains: 3 (Ethereum, BSC, TON)
Fees: Low to medium
Link: https://app.symbiosis.finance/swap
Another long-standing bridge and DeFi app, Symbiosis, added TON support in 2024. While users can exchange and swap TON tokens with the app, it can also be used for bridging when selecting corresponding tokens. Symbiosis undergoes regular security audits and is one of the secure and reliable DeFi services.
One can see that its fees are also mostly low.
Source: Symbiosis
When using a TON to ETH bridge, fees are larger, but still much smaller compared to TON Bridge. Along with that, its long-standing stable work and security make it more convenient compared to others.
Still, like most other tools, it supports only Ethereum and BSC chains and has limited functionality.
Rubic
Chains: 86
Fees: Low
Link: https://app.rubic.exchange/
Rubic Exchange, similarly, combines different DeFi features, but unlike others, it enables creating a TON to Solana bridge, as well as connecting to many other chains. It combines different providers together, including bridging protocols, swaps, and DEXes, which leads to highly optimized prices. Moreover, it has regular security audits and community-based governance, which ensures its safety.
No wonder it has a highly optimized bridge fee, comparable to Layerswap and Symbiosis while providing much more freedom when creating a bridge to TON chain for various assets.
Source: Rubic
Due to that, Rubic may be considered the best TON bridge for now, among those presented here.
Advanced Insights on TON Blockchain Bridges
We’ve reviewed how to bridge to TON and which apps to use for that. Let’s now focus on security issues and compare these apps closer.
How Secure Are TON Network Bridges?
TON bridge security depends on several factors. The blockchain itself protects decentralized apps from malefactors, but they have several points of vulnerability. While it’s not an exhaustive list, let’s overview several of them.
- Smart contract vulnerability is almost inevitable, as even small uncertainties in their code can be exploited. That’s why regular audits and bug bounties are a must-have for any DeFi app, as it’s the only way to detect and fix these vulnerabilities.
- Decentralization issues arise when app capacities are centralized on servers and, therefore, may be attacked more easily. It can be solved by using blockchain where possible and featuring open-source software.
- Community support is crucial here, as it creates an environment where users may ask questions, solve their issues, and feel more confident about the app. It’s recommended to use only apps with strong community support.
Also, exercising caution is essential in all cases when bridging to TON. Make sure you don’t use a phishing website and always keep control of your wallet’s private keys.
Comparing TON coin bridge options across chains
While we marked some TON network bridges better than others, it’s essential to remember that it depends on the situation. For example, Layerswap wins when one needs to bridge TON to Ethereum, while Rubic is the most universal one. Look at the table below to compare these bridges.
| Name | Supported protocols | Specialization |
|---|---|---|
| TON Bridge | 3 | An official bridge with Ethereum and BSC support, TON team maintenance, and high fees. |
| UtyabSwap Bridge | 10+ | Has one-sided functionality: one can only bridge from other chains to TON, but not vice versa. |
| Layerswap | 2 | Supports many chains, but for TON it allows only TON–ETH bridging with low prices and good conditions. |
| Symbiosis | 3 | Has a developed infrastructure with a TON bridge, supporting Ethereum and BSC and providing low prices. |
| Rubic Exchange | 86 | Allows one to bridge TON to Solana and many other networks with low fees. |
Therefore, it’s recommended to use each app based on which exact chain one wants to bridge and select apps with regular audits and strong community support, while exercising caution to avoid potential phishing.
GetBlock supports startup and crypto communities around the world. It provides free and paid TON RPC nodes to crypto startups and enthusiasts, and is always eager to help them promote their events or activities. Whether you build a small TON dApp to test your idea or prepare a venture capital pitch, sign up and get our node endpoints! With more than 99.99% uptime and our robust support, they guarantee that your app will remain alive under all circumstances.
