The cheapest, fastest way to bridge from Ethereum
Bridging from Ethereum is usually about one thing: escaping mainnet gas. A single swap on Ethereum can run from about a dollar to well over $20 when blocks are full, so moving funds to a layer 2 — where the same action costs cents — is what most people are here to do. You keep the assets you already hold; you just move them somewhere cheaper to use.
New to bridging? Move a small test amount first to see how it works — most transfers land in a couple of minutes.
Quotes include a 0.5% service fee that supports Bridgeline. Swaps execute through LI.FI’s audited smart contracts — this site never holds your funds.
Four steps, all signed in your own wallet.
- 01
Connect your wallet
Connect inside the bridge box. That's the only place Bridgeline ever asks — this site never sees your keys.
- 02
Pick your token and amount
Choose what you're moving, from which chain to which chain, and how much.
- 03
Review the quote and fee
You approve the exact amount in your own wallet, with the full fee shown. Cancel any time before you sign.
- 04
Confirm and track
Sign the transaction and watch it settle on-chain through LI.FI's audited contracts. Bridgeline is never in the middle.
Why move funds off Ethereum
Ethereum has the deepest liquidity in crypto, but that security and depth come at a price: it's the most expensive gas environment in this set, and the slowest to finalize at roughly 13 minutes. For everyday swaps, mints, and smaller positions, that cost is hard to justify when a rollup does the same job for a few cents. The catch is the exit itself — the bridge transaction settles on mainnet, so you pay L1 gas once to leave, then transact freely on the other side.
Popular destinations from Ethereum
Common ways to bridge from Ethereum
Stay safe while bridging
- Approve only what you’re bridging. The widget requests finite token approvals by default — there’s no need to grant an unlimited allowance.
- Check the URL every time. Bookmark this site and confirm the address bar before connecting a wallet.
- Start small for a new route. A tiny test transfer confirms everything works before you move the full amount.
Moving a large amount? Consider a hardware wallet
A hardware wallet keeps your private keys offline, so a compromised browser or a malicious approval can’t drain your funds on its own. It’s the single biggest security upgrade for anyone holding meaningful value on-chain.
Official links, provided for your security.
Bridging from Ethereum
What's the cheapest chain to move to from Ethereum?
On pure gas, the layer 2s (Base, Arbitrum, Optimism), Polygon, and Solana are all a fraction of a cent to a few cents once you arrive. The bigger cost is the exit — you pay Ethereum L1 gas to send the bridge transaction — so timing your departure for a quieter moment on mainnet saves the most. Where you should go depends on what you want to do: Base for consumer apps, Arbitrum for DeFi depth, Solana for speed.
Why is leaving Ethereum the expensive part?
Because the transaction that starts the bridge runs on Ethereum, you pay L1 gas for it — anywhere from roughly a dollar to over $20 when the network is busy. The destination side is cheap either way, so almost all your cost is that one mainnet send. It's often worth waiting for gas to drop before you bridge out.
Will I keep the same tokens after leaving Ethereum?
Yes — ETH stays ETH and native USDC stays native USDC on chains that support it. Watch that a token's contract address differs on each chain, and that some routes hand you a bridged variant rather than the canonical token. Confirm the destination asset in the quote before you approve.
Do I need a new gas token on the other side?
On the EVM L2s (Base, Arbitrum, Optimism) gas is still ETH, so you're set if you bring a little ETH. Polygon needs POL and Solana needs SOL, so if you're headed there, move a small amount of the native token too or use a route that delivers gas on arrival.