PulseChain Bridge: Your Gateway to the Network 

ByCaesar

A blockchain bridge is a tool that allows you to send assets from one blockchain to another. The PulseChain bridge serves as your primary gateway for moving tokens from the Ethereum network to the PulseChain network. It is not an exchange; you are not selling one token for another. Instead, you are locking your tokens on one chain and creating a wrapped version of them on the other. This process is essential for anyone who wants to use the lower fees and faster transaction speeds of PulseChain.

The Mechanism: Lock-and-Mint

The PulseChain bridge operates using a lock-and-mint system. This method ensures that for every wrapped token created on PulseChain, a corresponding original token is held securely in a smart contract on Ethereum. This preserves the 1:1 value of the wrapped asset.

Here’s how the system functions:

  1. You Send Funds: You initiate a transaction on the Ethereum network, sending your desired tokens (like USDC or DAI) to a specific bridge smart contract. This contract acts as a digital vault.
  2. Tokens Get Locked: The smart contract locks your tokens. They are now in a secure escrow and cannot be moved from that contract unless the bridge’s rules are followed.
  3. Validators Watch: A group of validators, which are computers running a specific software, constantly monitor the bridge contract on Ethereum. They watch for new transactions where tokens are locked.
  4. Validators Confirm: Once a validator sees a lock transaction and confirms it on the blockchain, it signs a message. This signature serves as a confirmation that the tokens were locked correctly.
  5. Wrapped Tokens Are Created: After a required number of validators sign off, a transaction is sent to the PulseChain network. A different smart contract on PulseChain then mints a new, wrapped version of the token. These new tokens have a “p” prefix, like pUSDC or pDAI.
  6. Wrapped Tokens Are Sent to Your Wallet: The newly minted wrapped tokens are sent to your wallet address on the PulseChain network. You can now use these tokens within the PulseChain ecosystem.

This process is reversible. To move tokens back to Ethereum, you send your wrapped tokens to the bridge contract on PulseChain, where they are burned. The validators confirm the burn, and the original tokens are unlocked from the escrow on Ethereum and sent back to your wallet.

The Role of Validators

Validators are a key part of the PulseChain bridge. They are the trusted intermediaries that confirm transactions and ensure assets are not created out of thin air. The bridge uses a federated trust model, which means you trust this specific group of validators to act honestly.

The validator set is responsible for:

  • Monitoring events on both the Ethereum and PulseChain networks.
  • Confirming that funds were correctly locked or burned.
  • Signing off on transactions to approve the minting or unlocking of assets.

The security of the bridge depends on the honesty of a majority of these validators. If a significant number of validators collude, they could potentially create a fraudulent transaction. To mitigate this risk, the validator set is managed to be as diverse and decentralized as possible.

User Guide: A Simple Process

From a user’s perspective, the bridge process is designed to be simple. You do not need to understand the complex mechanics.

  1. Wallet Setup: Make sure you have a crypto wallet like MetaMask set up and have added the PulseChain network to it. You also need a small amount of ETH for gas fees on Ethereum and a small amount of PLS for gas fees on PulseChain.
  2. Navigate to the Bridge: Visit the official PulseChain bridge website.
  3. Connect Your Wallet: The site will prompt you to connect your wallet.
  4. Select Your Assets: Choose the token you want to bridge and the amount. Make sure your wallet is on the correct network, which is Ethereum in this case.
  5. Approve and Send: You will be asked to approve the bridge contract to use your tokens. After approval, you send the tokens. You will confirm this transaction in your wallet.
  6. Wait for the Transfer: The process begins. You must wait for the transaction to confirm on Ethereum. You can monitor the progress on the bridge interface.
  7. See Your New Assets: Once the process is complete, the wrapped tokens will appear in your wallet. You may need to manually add the token to your wallet to see it.

Bridging assets is the first step to using the PulseChain network. It provides a simple and secure way to move value into this new ecosystem, allowing you to take advantage of its low fees and fast speeds

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