L2 Cross-chain Bridge Battle: Orbiter vs LayerSwap
Original author: Crush, Biteye Core Contributors
In the current rich on-chain ecosystem, cross-chain bridges have become an indispensable part of the entire ecosystem. Despite frequent reports of cross-chain bridge thefts, it still provides convenience for users' asset transfers.
With the development of Ethereum layer 2 networks such as Arbitrum and Optimism, cross-chain bridges dedicated to asset transfers between L2s have also emerged. In this article, we will introduce two very practical cross-chain bridges - Orbiter and Layerswap.
By introducing the principles, operations, and some details of these two cross-chain bridges, we aim to help you understand the current state of layer 2 cross-chain bridges and make the best choice for your cross-chain transfers.
01 Why choose Layerswap and Orbiter
Some readers may wonder why we specifically introduce these two out of so many cross-chain bridges currently available on the market. There is a reason for that, and let me explain.
Official endorsement
Firstly, what is the most important aspect of a cross-chain bridge? I would say it's security, and I don't think anyone would disagree! As an asset transfer tool, it is like the escorts of goods in ancient times, where security is of utmost importance. In addition, considering the various theft incidents involving cross-chain bridges that I mentioned earlier, an insecure cross-chain bridge, even if it offers lower transaction fees, will definitely not be preferred by users.
Open the official website of zkSync and Starknet, you can clearly see that these two cross-chain bridges are in a prominent position recommended by the official, and with the official endorsement, the credibility naturally increases.
(zkSync Lite Official Recommendation)
(Starknet Official Recommendation, https://www.starknet.io/en/ecosystem/bridges-and-onramps)
Airdrop Expectations
As a Web 3 user, airdrops are rewards that should not be missed. Among all airdrops, airdrops from public chains are usually the largest and have the widest coverage. Currently, the most anticipated airdrops from two public chains should be zkSync and Starknet.
If you want to receive airdrops from these two chains, you will inevitably need to experience their ecosystems. Orbiter and Layerswap have already laid out these two chains early on, allowing users to easily transfer assets from other chains to zkSync and Starknet.
In addition, these two projects have never conducted airdrops themselves. If users prioritize using them when experiencing new chains, they can achieve a "kill two birds with one stone" effect and receive airdrops from both the public chain and the cross-chain bridge.
02 Principles and Operations
Introduction to Principles
1. Orbiter
As users, although we don't need to fully understand every step of how a cross-chain bridge operates, it's still good to learn the basic principles. After all, it involves the security of our own funds, and knowing it will give us more peace of mind when using it.
When Orbiter is performing cross-chain transactions, there are two roles involved: the Sender and the Maker. The Maker, before providing services to the cross-chain initiator, needs to deposit an excess margin in the Maker's margin contract in Orbiter, and also deposit liquidity funds in the Maker address to ensure that the Sender's funds can be safely transferred across the chain.
(Note: The Maker address mentioned here is an EOA address configured by the Maker, which only the Maker has control over.)
Assuming we have a fund of 0.1 ETH that needs to be transferred from Arbitrum to zkSync, the normal process is for the Sender to send the funds to the Maker on Arbitrum. The Maker needs to know the target network, i.e., which chain the funds need to be transferred to, as well as the quantity and type of funds.
Once confirmed, the Maker will send an asset to your wallet on the target network, zkSync in this case, completing the entire cross-chain process.
The target network is distinguished using something called an Identification Code. This code is added to the end of the transferred amount during the cross-chain transaction. By checking this code, the Maker can confirm the target chain.
(Identification Code)
(Identification Codes for different chains)
The Maker acts as an intermediary for funds throughout the cross-chain process. If, during this process, the Maker fails to successfully send the Sender's assets, the Sender can initiate an arbitration request to the Maker's margin contract (MDC) based on the provided identification code and other information provided in the transaction approval interface, and receive excess compensation.
2. Layerswap
Layerswap does not disclose much about the technical principles in its user manual, but from its early cross-chain style, Layerswap is different from Orbiter mentioned above.
In the early stages of Layerswap's development, the layer-2 network was not mature yet, so many users who wanted to experience layer-2 solutions such as Arbitrum and Optimism had to first withdraw funds from exchanges to the Ethereum mainnet, and then use the official cross-chain bridges to move assets to layer-2 networks.
However, Layerswap introduced a tool called "Bransfer" and registered its own account on major exchanges. If users wanted to cross-chain their ETH to layer-2 networks, they only needed to transfer their assets to Layerswap's exchange account, and then Layerswap would send funds to the user's target address on the layer-2 network.
Since internal transfers within exchanges are fee-free, the cost you need to pay is almost only the layer-2 transfer fee, plus some fees charged by Layerswap. It can be considered very cheap.
So how are internal transfers confirmed? This is where Bransfer comes into play. Users need to apply for a read-only API on the exchange, and once Layerswap obtains your API, they can read your transfer data.
(Bransfer connection interface)
With the development of layer-2 solutions, most exchanges have already supported deposits and withdrawals on Arbitrum and Optimism, and even zkSync and Starknet, which have not yet issued their own tokens, have been gradually supported.
Once exchanges support these layer-2 solutions, Layerswap seems to lose its advantage. Therefore, in the latest v2 version, Layerswap has migrated Bransfer to become a built-in feature, and users no longer need to register Bransfer.
In addition, due to the merge of the two, their transaction histories have also been unified, and users can directly view them on Layerswap.
From the history of Layerswap's development, combined with the current limitations on cross-chain funds, we can speculate that it is highly likely that Layerswap still uses its own funds to help users with cross-chain transactions and earn transaction fees.
Actual Operations
1. Orbiter
Here I will demonstrate using Arbitrum to cross-chain to zkSync Era. First, we open the website of Orbiter, here directly using version V 2, which supports more cross-chain tokens.
(Orbiter cross-chain interface)
As shown in the picture, the interface is very concise. Simply select the corresponding chain and token, and enter the quantity. The bottom will display how much GAS fee and time you saved. If you want to see the actual cost, hover over the question mark to display the official cross-chain bridge fee and the fee for using Orbiter.
(Cross-chain fee)
If you want to view your cross-chain history, you can check it in the upper right corner under History. In addition to the cross-chain function, Orbiter has also launched an L 2 Data dashboard. Click on L 2 Data in the upper left corner to see the overall trading data of the second layer and the data of each project separately.
(L 2 Data)
2. Layerswap
Open the official website of Layerswap because it supports direct cross-chain transactions on exchanges. Here, we will try to cross-chain ETH from OKX to zkSync Era.
(Layerswap Cross-chain Interface)
After selecting OKX and zkSync Era, enter the amount to be cross-chained. Here, the token type cannot be changed, only ETH can be selected, and the maximum limit is 1 ETH.
There is a customer service button in the upper right corner. If there are any issues during the cross-chain process, you can contact them directly. You can also view the transaction history in the "Transfer" section.
The bottom will display the amount of tokens you will receive, here it shows I will receive 0.99802 ETH. Including 0.001198 ETH for Layerswap Fee and 0.01 for Exchange Fee.
For the receiving address, you can either fill in the same address as the sending address or customize a different address, whichever is more convenient.
After clicking "Swap Now", you will enter the transfer interface, where you need to withdraw 1 ETH from OKX and send it to the receiving address they provide you. The public chain for sending can be chosen, with Arbitrum being the default, to save on transaction fees.
(Transfer Page)
When you have completed the withdrawal operation on the exchange to this address, this interface will automatically detect the funds received and then transfer the funds to your zkSync Era address.
03 Detailed Comparison
Supported Number of Public Chains
(Number of Supported Public Chains)
Looking at the number of supported public chains, Layerswap has two more than Orbiter, which are Solana and Avalanche, and it supports cross-chain withdrawals from exchanges.
However, more does not necessarily mean better. Solana, after the FTX crash, is no longer as active as before. The Avalanche ecosystem also doesn't seem to have any particularly outstanding projects, and overall activity is relatively average. Therefore, Orbiter's lack of support for these two chains is not a big issue.
Cross-Chain Speed
In terms of cross-chain speed, we are crossing from any chain to zkSync Era.
The time taken by Orbiter is generally around 30 seconds, with the mainnet speed slightly slower, possibly taking 45 seconds, or even longer if the mainnet is congested. The fastest is the BSC network, which only takes 15 seconds to cross-chain to zkSync Era.
Layerswap generally has slower cross-chain speeds, taking around 2 minutes. Among them, the slowest speed is when crossing from Polygon to zkSync Era, which takes over 1 hour.
(Polygon Cross-Chain Reminder)
Therefore, in terms of cross-chain speed, Orbiter is the clear winner over Layerswap.
Cross-Chain Fees
Orbiter's cross-chain fees between most Layer 2 networks range from 2 U to 4 U and are usually fixed. However, some cross-chain fees increase with the amount being transferred. For example, transferring ETH from zkSync Era back to Arbitrum follows this pattern.
(Fees for a cross-chain transfer of 0.01 E)
When the cross-chain amount is 0.01 ETH, the fee is 2.47 U.
(Fees for a cross-chain transfer of 1 E)
When we attempt to increase the cross-chain amount to 1 ETH, the cross-chain fee increases significantly to 4.43 U.
On the other hand, the fees for transferring from Layer 2 to the mainnet are higher, starting at 14 U. As the cross-chain amount increases, the fees also increase, with a maximum possible fee of 20 U. Beyond that, there are no further increases because Orbiter's Maker has imposed limits on the funds transferred to the mainnet, with a maximum of only 10 E.
(Fees for transferring to the mainnet)
Layerswap cross-chain fees between Layer 2 are generally around 0.0016 E, which is about 3 U. Regardless of the changes in cross-chain funds, the transaction fees remain relatively stable.
（Cross-chain fees between Layer 2）
When we try to transfer funds from Layer 2 to the Ethereum mainnet, the transaction fees are even cheaper than those for transferring between Layer 2. Overall, the experience shows that Layerswap's cross-chain fees are relatively stable, similar to withdrawal fees on exchanges.
(Cross-chain fees from Layer 2 to the mainnet)
By comparison, Layerswap seems to have a slight advantage in terms of cross-chain fees.
In addition to directly checking cross-chain fees on the bridge, you can also use Chaineye to query cross-chain fees.
After opening the tool, enter the relevant information for the cross-chain transaction, and you can easily query the fees for various cross-chain bridges.
(Chaineye query for cross-chain fees)
The tool will rank the transactions from lowest to highest based on transaction fees. You can change "cheapest" to "fastest" in the top right corner. This will display the fastest chains.
(Sorted by cross-chain transaction fees from lowest to highest)
(Sorted by speed from fastest to slowest)
Safety
From the principles mentioned above, Orbiter ensures the security of users' funds by allowing multiple well-funded market makers to provide cross-chain liquidity on various chains through a whitelist mechanism. It also guarantees the safety of users' funds by utilizing margin and arbitration mechanisms to prevent market makers from being inactive after receiving funds.
Compared to Layerswap, which is a single entity providing liquidity, the former seems to consider the security of users' funds more comprehensively.
04 Summary
Based on the discussions above, we can use the following strategies for everyday cross-chain transactions:
1. When the cross-chain funds are not significant, prioritize using Layerswap. Although it has slightly slower speed, it has lower transaction fees.
2. When the cross-chain funds are considerable, prioritize using Orbiter. Orbiter has more abundant liquidity and can meet the cross-chain needs of larger funds, whereas Layerswap has a limit of 1 ETH.
3. When there is a need to cross-chain from Layer 2 to the mainnet, prioritize using Layerswap as it still has the lowest fees for Layer 2 to mainnet transactions.
4. For users who have funds in exchanges and want to directly cross-chain to the target chain, prioritize choosing Layerswap as it is the only one that supports exchanges.
5. For users who prioritize time and security but don't mind transaction fees, consider using Orbiter as the first choice.
