Contents
What is a Bridge?
Why Use a Bridge?
What Bridges Can I Use?
Learn how to Bridge JOE
What Are Cryptocurrency Bridges?
Cryptocurrency bridges, often referred to as 'blockchain bridges', enable the transfer of tokens to different blockchain networks, such as Avalanche and Arbitrum. To think about this in a simple way, you can view blockchain networks as countries and a cryptocurrency bridge as a way to transport yourself from one country to another.
Key Functions of a Bridge
Asset Transfer: Bridges allow users to transfer cryptocurrencies from one blockchain to another.
Interoperability: They enable different blockchain networks to communicate and share information.
Liquidity Sharing: Bridges can pool liquidity from various networks, enhancing the overall DeFi ecosystem.
Why Are They Important in DeFi?
DeFi aims to create a global, open alternative to every financial service you use today — from savings to loans to trading. Here, bridges play a vital role:
Connecting Isolated Blockchains: Without bridges, blockchains would operate in isolation. Bridges connect these silos, allowing for a more unified DeFi experience.
Enhancing User Experience: By enabling asset transfers across blockchains, bridges offer users greater flexibility and choice.
Facilitating New Opportunities: They open up a world of possibilities, including cross-chain lending, borrowing, and yield farming.
Trader Joe: Multi-Chain Decentralized Exchange
Trader Joe's Decentralized Exchange is a 'multi-chain' platform that supports multiple networks. Trader Joe is able to offer users a variety of options for executing trades, with the ability to access new decentralized applications & tokens that are based on the different networks that can be accessed directly from the Trader Joe platform.
Changing Blockchain Networks on Trader Joe
When a user first visits the Trader Joe platform, the dapp will automatically connect them to their current Network. If a user wants to connect to a different network, select the drop down box from the navigation menu and click the preferred network.
Why would a user select different blockchain networks?
Users may need to use a cryptocurrency bridge for several key reasons, primarily related to the nature of blockchain technology and the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem:
Access to Specific DeFi Services: Some DeFi applications or services are only available on certain blockchains. Maybe you want to access a specific platform on Arbitrum, therefore you may want to switch to Arbitrum to then access that.
Taking Advantage of Lower Transaction Costs: Different blockchains have varying transaction fees and in some cases, some blockchains might have congestin causing higher than average fees or even, haltages. Using different blockchains means you can continue to trade on the Trader Joe platform, just leveraging the different blockchain technology.
Diversifying Investment and Risk: By bridging assets to different blockchains, users can diversify their investment portfolio and spread their risk across multiple ecosystems.
Taking Part in Unique Blockchain Ecosystems: Different blockchains have unique features, tokens, and communities. Users may bridge assets to explore new ecosystems, participate in community events, or access specific tokens not available on their native blockchain.
Arbitrage Opportunities: Price discrepancies for the same asset on different blockchains can offer arbitrage opportunities. By using bridges, users can buy an asset on one blockchain where it’s cheaper and sell it on another where the price is higher.
Recommended bridges
Below you can find guides for the recommended bridges to transfer your assets across networks. If you have specific queries and need further assistance, please do not hesitate to join the Trader Joe Discord and speak to a community manager directly.
Stargate
Trader Joe has partnered and recommends Stargate as a key bridge of choice. Stargate is a fully composable native asset bridge, and the first dApp built on LayerZero. DeFi users can swap native assets cross-chain on Stargate within a single transaction. For example, users can swap USDC on Ethereum for USDT on BNB.
Our Guide: Bridge with Stargate
Further Details: Stargate Guide
Native: Joe Bridge
If you want to transfer your JOE tokens, you can transfer them using the native bridge that is built into the Trader Joe platform. By selecting 'Bridge' from the UI directly, this will open up a Bridge page that utilises LayerZero 'Omnichain Fungible Token' technology. When you bridge your JOE tokens, you are essentially burning it on one chain and then minting it on a new chain. The Contract ID for JOE is unique for each chain to reflect that transfer. LayerZero ensures this process is safe, fast and seamless so it simply feels like you are transferring your JOE from one chain to another.
Need gas? the Bridge also has a feature that lets you add gas on destination, just will ensure that if you are entering into a new chain, you'll have gas to make a swap.
Learn more about how to Bridge your JOE in this guide:
Different JOE tokens by Chain:
Token: JOE | Contract ID | Explorer Link |
Avalanche | 0x6e84a6216eA6dACC71eE8E6b0a5B7322EEbC0fDd | |
Arbitrum | 0x371c7ec6D8039ff7933a2AA28EB827Ffe1F52f07 | |
Mantle | 0x371c7ec6D8039ff7933a2AA28EB827Ffe1F52f07 | |
BNB | 0x371c7ec6D8039ff7933a2AA28EB827Ffe1F52f07 |
If you need help and want to ask questions about bridging and transfering your JOE tokens, please join the Trader Joe Discord and open a support ticket for dedicated help.