Wormhole is a cross-chain bridge service that allows you to transfer tokens and NFTs between different blockchains, such as Ethereum, Solana, Terra, and Binance Smart Chain. Wormhole is different from other bridges in several ways:
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Wormhole is trustless and decentralized. It does not rely on any central entity or federation to run the bridge. Instead, it uses a network of validators that run the Wormhole Core Layer, which is a protocol that verifies and relays cross-chain messages. The validators use a consensus algorithm called Proof of Authority (PoA) to agree on the state of the bridge and the validity of the transfers.
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Wormhole is fast and cheap. It can transfer tokens and NFTs between chains in a matter of seconds, with minimal fees. This is because Wormhole uses a smart contract on each chain that acts as a gateway for the tokens and NFTs. The smart contract issues wrapped tokens or NFTs that represent the original assets on the other chain. For example, if you want to transfer ETH from Ethereum to Solana, you would send ETH to the Wormhole smart contract on Ethereum, which would lock your ETH and emit a message to the Wormhole Core Layer. The validators would then relay this message to the Wormhole smart contract on Solana, which would mint wETH (wrapped ETH) and send it to your Solana address.
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Wormhole is compatible and flexible. It supports any ERC-20 token, ERC-721 NFT, SPL token, CW20 token, and BEP-20 token. It also supports metadata and royalty information for NFTs. You can use Wormhole through various interfaces, such as Portal, Sollet, or Terra Station. You can also use it programmatically through the Wormhole SDK.