Cross-chain swapping, also known as bridging, lets you trade one token for another on a different network, such as turning SOL into BTC, or ETH on Ethereum into ETH on Robinhood Chain. Phantom routes your swap through trusted providers to find the best available price.

How bridging works #

When you swap tokens between two different blockchains, Phantom routes the transaction through a bridge. A bridge is a third-party service that locks or burns your tokens on the source network, then releases or mints equivalent tokens on the destination network.

Phantom supports several bridge providers, including LI.FI (which itself integrates tools like Mayan), Relay, deBridge, and Garden. Phantom's quote engine compares quotes across these providers and automatically selects the route with the best balance of speed, fees, and liquidity. Phantom chooses the lowest-priced bridge provider, but you can choose one yourself in the swap settings.

A cross-chain swap typically has three or four steps:

1. Your token is swapped or wrapped on the source network if needed, for example SOL to USDC on Solana before bridging.
2. The bridge locks or burns your tokens on the source network.
3. Validators or relayers confirm the transaction across both networks. This is where most of the wait time is spent.
4. The bridge releases or mints tokens on the destination network. If the destination token differs from what the bridge delivered, Phantom does a final same-network swap.

Each step requires confirmations on its own blockchain, which is why cross-chain swaps take longer than same-network swaps. Actual duration varies by route, network congestion, and which provider is selected.

Fees #

A cross-chain swap can involve up to four cost components: a source network fee, a bridge fee, a destination network fee, and price impact. Today, Phantom shows the bridge fee combined into the displayed price impact figure on the main confirmation screen. To see it broken out separately, open swap settings > Provider before confirming.