A new service called Wormhole NFT Bridge connects Ethereum and Solana to let users transfer assets between these competing blockchains.
This service, in technical terms, is called a “bi-directional bridge” that can send assets and make them compatible with other blockchain platforms.
This is how it works: When someone wants to transfer a Solana NFT to Ethereum to sell it on OpenSea, the service would first lock the original NFT within the Wormhole smart contract.
A smart contract is a technology that runs behind decentralized apps, DeFi protocols, and NFTs through a code that performs established instructions.
Frozen NFT
Through Wormhole, an NFT is not literally transferred on other blockchain platforms, instead it is “frozen” in a smart contract, and a new version is minted on Ethereum.
“Users that are only active on a single chain have no way of getting access to exciting NFTs on others. The Wormhole NFT Bridge solves this and allows users to acquire new NFTs that were previously inaccessible, or tap into the liquidity of other chains’ marketplaces,” Hendrik Hofstadt, director of Special Projects at Jump Crypto, said.
Ethereum’s dominance
Ethereum is currently the leading platform for NFTs which includes the highly popular CryptoPunks and ArtBlocks.
OpenSea, an NFT marketplace that is also powered by Ethereum, has become so successful and generated more than $3.4 billion in transaction volume in August alone.
And through the Wormhole NFT Bridge, both NFTs and NFT marketplaces can be more successful because digital assets can finally cross on different blockchains.
Solana-based NFT collections such as Degenerate Ape Academy, Solana Monkey Business, and Aurory can finally find a bigger audience on the OpenSea marketplace.
The Wormhole service was first announced in October 2020, and Solana fully supported the service as it will seamlessly link two of the most popular blockchains with each other.
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