Use Wormhole bridge when your token has a supported route to the blockchain where you need it. Check the token you will receive, send from your source wallet, and complete a destination claim if required. Allow around 20 minutes for a transfer starting on Ethereum, plus any time needed to finish the claim.
How the Wormhole bridge carries tokens across chains
The Wormhole bridge moves tokens between separate blockchains using a verified message. Wormhole Core carries that message. Guardians, a group that watches the source chain, sign a proof of what happened; the destination chain checks it before issuing or releasing tokens.
On a wrapped-token route, the source token is locked and a matching token is created on the destination chain. Sending it back reverses that process. Wormhole Core also carries messages between apps, but a token transfer uses a token route built on that messaging system.
A connected chain does not mean every token has a route to it. Once you have a token and destination in mind, wormholebridge.org lets you make a Wormhole cross-chain bridge transfer between connected blockchains.
Transfer tokens after checking the route and receive asset
Start by checking the exact token route, then prepare the wallets and fees needed to finish it. The costs depend on the chains and on whether you claim the tokens yourself or a relayer does it for you:
- Source-chain gas pays for the transaction that starts the transfer.
- Destination-chain gas pays for a claim you make yourself.
- A relayer fee may apply if another party completes the destination transaction.
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Check the source token and destination chain together. Confirm the named receive asset: an ETH transfer from Ethereum to Solana, for example, can arrive as wrapped ETH on Solana, not SOL.
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Fund the wallets needed for the route. If you send 1 ETH from Ethereum, keep extra ETH for source gas; a manual claim on Solana also needs SOL.
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Enter the amount and the recipient’s address on the destination chain. Check the full address and chain before continuing, since the signed transfer will use those details.
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Review the expected receive amount and fees. If the token requires a separate spending approval, check its amount before signing that transaction.
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Sign the source transfer and save its transaction hash, the ID used to find its public record. Ethereum finality alone takes around 19 minutes, so a confirmed send may still be waiting for Wormhole’s proof.
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Complete the destination claim if the route requires one. Wait for the signed proof, then submit the claim from the original transfer with enough destination gas.
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Check the destination wallet for the specified receive asset. A completed transfer may show a wrapped token under a different token name or address than the source asset.
A pending transfer needs a source or destination check
A pending Wormhole bridge transfer may be waiting for source finality, the signed proof, or a destination claim. Look up the saved transaction hash in a chain explorer, a public transaction record, to see whether the source send succeeded. If it failed, no transfer began.
If the source send succeeded, check the original transfer’s status for a proof and a destination transaction. When the proof is ready but no claim has completed, finish that claim rather than starting another send. Choose the route only when its receive asset and total fees meet your needs.