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Get started with token bridging

Token bridging is a fundamental aspect of any child chain protocol. It allows projects to quickly integrate with the Arbitrum ecosystem by leveraging their existing parent chain tokens.

This section offers a series of how-tos showcasing the different methods available for making your token bridgeable.

You have three options to consider when deciding on how to bridge your token:

  1. Standard gateway: opt for this method if you want to have an standard ERC-20 token automatically deployed on Arbitrum, which will act as the child chain counterpart to your parent chain token. For additional information, please refer to the standard ERC-20 gateway in the conceptual page.
  2. Generic-custom gateway: choose this method if you require custom functionality for your ERC-20 token on Arbitrum. You will deploy your counterpart token on Arbitrum equipped with the unique features you wish to implement. For additional information, please refer to the Arbitrum generic custom gateway in the conceptual page.
  3. Custom gateway: this method is intended for edge cases where a custom ERC-20 token is insufficient and you need an additional layer of flexibility with the gateway (for example, your token has the capacity to increase its supply on the child chain, and you want those child chain-minted tokens to be withdrawable back to the parent chain and recognized by the parent chain contract). For additional information, please refer to the other types of gateways in the conceptual page.

What if I just want to bridge a token programmatically?​

Refer to the How to bridge tokens via Arbitrum’s standard gateway page that provides an example of how to deposit your tokens (from the parent to child chain) programmatically, specifically in Steps 2 to 5.

You can also find scripts demonstrating parent-to-child chain bridging (deposits) and child-to-parent chain bridging (withdrawals) using the Arbitrum SDK.