Announcing Beamer Bridge
Bridge between rollups with world-class user experience:
exact amounts, nearly instant transfers, and all the same security as Ethereum L1
We are excited to announce Beamer Bridge to the Ethereum ecosystem!
Beamer enables users to transfer ERC20 assets directly between EVM compatible rollups — without going via L1.
The recent growth of rollups is one of the most exciting trends in Ethereum today. Rollups offer fast transactions, lower gas fees, and the same security of Ethereum L1. However, these rollups exist in silos — causing friction, poor UX, and liquidity fragmentation for both users and dApps.
Beamer solves the problem of rollup silos, enabling users to move and consolidate assets across rollups, make P2P payments to recipients on other rollups, and access dApps on other rollups.
Our novel approach and dedicated focus on inter-rollup bridging give users the best experience. Try it for yourself. And then let us know what you think!
Testnet Launch
Beamer is now live on testnet. You can do test token (TST) transfers from Boba Rinkeby to Metis Stardust — and vice versa. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Ensure you have a Metamask wallet
- Go to the Beamer dApp
- Add Boba Rinkeby and Metis Stardust testnest (add them to Metamask via Chainlist)
- Get test tokens (TST) and gas tokens (Boba ETH, METIS) from our faucet in the Beamer dApp (connect MetaMask and look for the orange button)
- Transfer TST from Boba to Metis (or vice versa) using the Beamer dApp
You can also explore our documentation and our code on GitHub.
When you’re finished, please be sure to share your feedback via the widget in the dApp or Twitter DMs. Your feedback will help us get to mainnet faster and provide users with an even better experience.
World-Class User Experience
At first glance, Beamer may look similar to other bridges. But test it out. You will immediately see the superlative user experience which sets Beamer apart:
Exact Amounts
Beamer guarantees the amount of tokens sent and received will always be the same. For example: If a user sends USDC 1,000, then the recipient will always get USDC 1,000. That means no more guessing due to conversion rates or slippage.
Speed
Most transfers will be completed in just a few blocks. In our internal testing, transfers are reliably completed in under 20 seconds.
Simplicity
The user only needs to sign one transaction per transfer. After the user has signed the initial transaction, the recipient will receive their tokens on the target rollup and be able to start using their tokens right away.
Security
Beamer relies on Ethereum L1 for settlement and resolution in the event of a dispute between agents (the software that fulfills user requests). It does not introduce new security assumptions.
Additionally, users will always receive their tokens and be able to use them immediately after the transfer. In the rare case of a dispute, only agents are responsible for resolution.
Technology
Beamer provides users with optimistic bridging services. Agents manage settlement and security via escalation games or proofs on L1.
Here’s how it works behind the scenes:
Bridge Service
First, using the Beamer dApp, the user initiates a transfer by sending their tokens to the Beamer contract and paying the service fees on the source rollup (R1). The Beamer contract on R1 locks these tokens and service fees.
Second, the agent sees that a user has made a transfer request on R1 and fulfills that request by sending tokens to the recipient on the target rollup (R2).
At this point, the users may verify the bridge transfer on the block explorer. The recipient now has full access to the transferred tokens.
Agent Settlement
After the agent fulfills the user’s request by sending tokens to the recipient on R2, the agent will claim the tokens and fees from the Beamer contract on R1.
If the agent’s claim is not challenged, the agent may withdraw the tokens and fees from the Beamer contract on R1.
If the agent’s claim is challenged, then the agent and the challenger will play an escalation game.
Escalation Game
The escalation game is the security mechanism which deters agents from making false claims and penalizes them in the event they do so. In practice, the escalation game will be played very rarely.
As an alternative and backstop to the escalation game, at any time, the agent or challenger can submit a proof on L1 to reveal who has actually fulfilled the user’s request.
Beamer is fully decentralized. The core protocol and community team do not run agents. All of the agents are independent, incentivized by the agent service fees they earn by providing their service.
Roadmap
Beamer is just getting started. In the coming months, we look forward to introducing better functionality and more partnerships:
Mainnet
Beamer is now live on testnet. We are collecting feedback and fixing bugs. We will release Beamer on the Ethereum mainnet once we are confident it is secure.
Rollups & Tokens
Beamer currently supports bridging between the Boba and Metis rollups. We will soon add other optimistic rollups, including Optimism and Arbitrum. We plan to add zk rollups as they become EVM compatible.
Agents
We will launch our agent program soon.
Agents help users to transfer assets from one rollup to another by fulfilling user requests. Agents need to run the Beamer agent and add liquidity to them. The Beamer agent then automatically fulfills user requests, submits claims, resolves disputes, and earns agent service fees.
We will be working with agents to optimize their operations, thus helping them achieve safe and competitive APY returns for providing their service.
Team
Beamer is a project of brainbot technologies AG. We are a leading blockchain development studio, which has been actively creating infrastructure for Ethereum and contributing to the Ethereum ecosystem since March 2014.
Origins
While working on product market fit for the Raiden Network, we saw the growth of rollups and demand to bridge between them. Hashed Timelock Contracts, the building blocks of payment channel networks like Raiden, initially looked like a promising technology. While digging further, we noted that only a more specialized solution can compete in the bridge market. We were intrigued by Vitalik Buterin’s approach to rollup bridging. We refined this approach, focusing deeply on the user experience, and ultimately developed Beamer Bridge.
We recognized that the two problems required two different solutions. Therefore, the Raiden Network project will stay focused on providing infrastructure for applications requiring highly scalable trustless off-chain token transfers. Beamer Bridge will specialize in inter-rollup bridges with an outstanding user experience.
We are thankful for the support of the Raiden community over the past 7 years and we look forward to continuing to work with them on Beamer too. As we develop the Beamer protocol, governance structure, and community, we actively encourage the Raiden community to get involved. One of our goals is to structure the Beamer project in a way that it also gives back to the Raiden community, so they can also benefit from Beamer’s future success.
Get Involved
Feedback, Agents & Partnerships
We’re working hard to deliver the best user experience when bridging between rollups.
We’d love to hear from you. Share your feedback, ideas to build together, and opportunities to partner:
- Fill out the feedback form in the Beamer dApp on testnet
- Open an issue on GitHub
- Email us at hello@beamerbridge.com
- DM us on Twitter
Check Out Our Documentation
Beamer is an open-source project. You can find a detailed explanation of the protocol mechanics and specifications in our documentation and you can review our code on GitHub.
If you are a bridge researcher, we’d love to hear your insights and feedback on our protocol design.
Ethereum Events
We’ll be active at Ethereum ecosystem events in the coming months, including EthDubai, Devconnect Amsterdam, and EthCC 5. We’d love to meet you in person. Look for us at our booths and presentations.
Join Our Community
Keep up to date with our growth. Get involved in the Beamer community. We’re on Twitter. Our DMs are always open.
