This time we’re bridging to Optimism, a Layer 2 blockchain which provides all Ethereum’s best-known decentralised applications with the simplicity of a rollup. Faster transactions, minimal gas fees.
It takes as little as 30 seconds to bridge your funds and just like our previous bridges to zkSync Era and Polygon zkEVM, it’s free for the first 48 hours (until 19:00 UTC on 12th May).
So as well as saving money when you’re exploring the Optimism ecosystem, you can save money getting there too.
Why we’ve opened a bridge to Optimism
Like rhino.fi, Optimism is striving to reduce the burden on Ethereum by bringing popular dApps onto a Layer 2 rollup. This means transactions take place off the congested Layer 1 and avoid the punishing gas fees.
Optimism processes transactions slightly differently than rhino.fi – as its name might suggest, it uses optimistic validation, while we use zero-knowledge validation – but we’ve both got the same core purpose in mind: speed, simplicity and scalability.
While rhino.fi provides a conduit to other DeFi ecosystems via bridges and cross-chain swaps, Optimism serves as the base camp for dozens of popular dApps. Here are some of the most popular:
- SushiSwap. A decentralised community for swaps, trades and yield farming.
- Aave. An open-source, non-custodial liquidity protocol for lending and borrowing.
- Quix. The first NFT marketplace built specifically for Optimism, enabling you to buy the most popular collectibles in DeFi in milliseconds.
Rhino.fi enables you to explore the world’s most promising blockchains. Optimism enables you to explore the world’s most promising dApps.
How to bridge
It’s super-simple. Just head over to the Bridge widget on rhino.fi and you’ll see Optimism in the list of available options.
Enter the token and quantity you wish to bridge, select Optimism, and click to confirm (you’ll also need to connect your wallet if you haven’t already).
What are the risks?
For total transparency, we want to ensure you’re aware of the risks that come with bridging. These include:
Smart contract hacks. Occasionally, the smart contracts that govern the flow of funds around bridges can be hacked, although rhino.fi has put rigorous measures in place to prevent this (you can read an independent security review of our smart contracts here).
It’s also important to mention that, even though fees are at a minimum, there’s no guarantee that any opportunities you pursue on Optimism will deliver a profit. So be sure to do your own research and reach out to us on Twitter or Discord if you want to discuss.
So if you’d like to explore the opportunities, just click below.
