Aurora Labs Introduces Fast Rainbow Bridge

A Rainbow Bridge launched by Aurora Labs on the NEAR Protocol has been met with great interest in the blockchain world.

Aurora Labs has introduced the Fast Rainbow Bridge, enabling seamless token transfers between the Ethereum and NEAR blockchains

We are excited to announce the launch of the Fast Rainbow Bridge, a new option for transferring tokens from the NEAR blockchain to Ethereum within a few minutes. Unlike the classic Rainbow Bridge, which can take several hours, the Fast Bridge offers significantly faster token transfers while alleviating certain limitations of the traditional approach. After being made available in White List mode, the Fast Bridge is now accessible to everyone!

Aurora Labs

Notable Differences from the Classic Rainbow Bridge!

The transfer time required to connect ERC-20 tokens from the NEAR and Aurora ecosystems to Ethereum using the classic Rainbow Bridge ranges from 4 to 8 hours. There are several reasons for this, including the optimistic approach, the frequency of NEAR block transfers, the two-step transfer process, and the inability to cancel transactions, resulting in lengthy processing times.

Aurora Labs offered solutions to reduce this timeframe

Here are some of these solutions:

• LP-Relayer (Liquidity provider relayer): The relayer is an off-chain service with accounts on both Ethereum and NEAR. It holds token liquidity on Ethereum and facilitates token transfers between NEAR and Ethereum. After reclaiming tokens on the NEAR side, the relayer uses the classic Rainbow Bridge to transfer funds back to Ethereum and replenish liquidity.

• Near Fast Bridge: A NEAR contract that locks and transfers tokens to the relayer after providing proof of a completed transaction on the Ethereum side.

• Ethereum Fast Bridge: An Ethereum contract used by the relayer to transfer tokens to users. This contract generates token transfer events on the Ethereum side.

What Innovations Do They Offer to Users?

1. By leveraging the fast transfer functionality, users can easily create a bridge for ERC-20 tokens from NEAR to the Ethereum ecosystem.
2. With the fast transfer feature, users can typically transfer their assets within a few minutes.
3. The Fast Rainbow Bridge assumes the transfer cost on behalf of the user, relieving them from paying gas fees on the Ethereum side. The relayer covers the gas expenses and ensures immediate execution of the transaction, reducing the impact of potential gas price fluctuations.