On September 8, 2021, Dmitriy Berenzon, research partner at early-stage crypto fund 1kxnetwork, published a comprehensive research post concerning blockchain bridges. His study highlights the current “multi-chain market structure” and the bridges that are making a myriad of blockchains compatible.
‘We Are Finally in a Multi-Chain Market Structure’
For quite some time, multi-chain or cross-chain technology has been a holy grail in the cryptocurrency development space. Berenzon believes we’ve finally reached a watershed moment. “After years of research & development, we are finally in a multi-chain market structure,” he stresses in his blog post.
The study examines blockchains like Ethereum, Solana, Tezos, Avalanche, Polkadot, Binance Smart Chain, Cosmos, and more. Berenzon notes that “interoperability unlocks innovation,” as bridges enable users to access new platforms, protocols to interoperate with each other, and developers to collaborate on building new products.
He lists the benefits of cross-chain interoperability: leveraging external validators and federations, using light clients and relay protocols, and accessing liquidity networks. However, his report is not a mere promotional piece. He highlights that cross-chain tech and bridges are an “incredibly difficult problem in distributed systems.” Issues such as finality, rollbacks, NFT transfers and provenance, and long-term stress testing must be addressed.
$7.79 Billion Locked Across 8 Bridges to Ethereum
According to Dune Analytics’ “Bridge Away” dashboard, as of September 16, 2021, eight major bridges to Ethereum collectively hold approximately $7.79 billion in total value locked (TVL). The Polygon ERC20 Bridge leads with $2.4 billion (32.5% share), followed by Arbitrum Bridges at 31.5% and the Avalanche Bridge at 21.2%. Other bridges include Solana Wormhole (6.7%), Fantom Anyswap Bridge (6.6%), Harmony Bridges, Optimism ERC20 Bridges, and Near Rainbow Bridge.
These bridges served 42,997 unique addresses in the last 30 days. Among the top assets locked, Ether and WETH dominate with $2.9 billion, followed by USDC ($1.2 billion) and Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) (over $1 billion). The rapid growth in bridge TVL indicates that users are actively seeking cross-chain arbitrage, asset migration, and expanded DeFi opportunities.
Opportunities and Risks Ahead
Berenzon argues that the maturation of cross-chain bridges will drive exponential growth in DeFi, NFTs, and GameFi. However, security risks remain significant. High-profile bridge exploits, such as the Ronin Bridge attack, highlight the fragility of these systems. He emphasizes the need to balance finality, decentralization, and usability. The multi-chain boom is not just a technological breakthrough but a crucial step toward a more interconnected and mature crypto ecosystem.