Currently, there are quite a few different blockchains and different L2 solutions to improve Ethereum scalability. Users often need to transfer their assets from one blockchain to another or to an L2 network. That’s why bridges fulfill this task.

For Starknet, the main bridge that connects it to Ethereum is StarkGate. You can transfer your ETH or other coins from Ethereum to Starknet and vice versa. This bridge may seem a bit more complicated than the others, but it has its advantages.

It must be said right away that Ethereum and Starknet do not have the same addresses and use different types of wallets. This is due to the fact that Starknet has certain differences in its construction.

For Ethereum, you can connect Metamask or a number of other wallets for this network to the bridge. For Starknet, you can use Braavos or Argent X.

The bridging process is usually fairly simple: you deposit your tokens on one side of the bridge and receive an equivalent amount of tokens on the other.

The tokens are locked on one side of the bridge and the new tokens are minted on the other (the system is known as ‘lock-and-mint’ for this reason).

The StarkGate bridge works on this basis, too.

There are two major points that make bridging on Starknet different, and mean you can’t use the same address on both sides.

1. Starknet does not have the same address space as Ethereum.

Starknet is written in Cairo while Ethereum is written in Solidity. This means that, while Ethereum account addresses contain 40 hexadecimal characters, Starknet account addresses contain 63.

1. Starknet is based on the concept of account abstraction.

Account abstraction splits wallets into two parts: the surface-level interface and a smart contract underneath, which allows us to add multi-factor verification and loads of other advanced features.

However, it also means that every wallet on Starknet is a smart contract wallet, and every transaction on Starknet has to go through the account smart contract before it can interact with any other contract on-chain.

We all know that bridges are hacked. In fact, bridges are one of the most obvious points of failure in cryptography.

There are two reasons for this:

1. Bridges are only as strong as their weakest link. If one side of the bridge gets hacked, funds are lost.

2. Bridges usually have a centralized control system in the form of multisig wallets. Often, individual wallets (signers) are targeted and compromised, which means an attacker can gain control over the entire bridge.

However Starknet, and other ZK rollups, inherit the security of the Layer 1 Ethereum blockchain. Furthermore, the bridge operations (in this case, StarkGate) are verified by the verifier contract on Ethereum L1.

Other bridges rely on validators (humans). However, the Starknet bridge uses incorruptible math, not validators.

1. Log in to your Braavos wallet and a wallet you use on Ethereum, such as Metamask.

2. Connect your Ethereum and Starknet wallets.

3. Choose a token (coin) and enter the amount you want to transfer.

4. Сhoose whether you want to deposit or withdraw funds from Ethereum or Starknet.

5. Click “Transfer” and confirm the transaction in your wallet

When you transfer funds from Ethereum to Starknet, it all happens in a single transaction.

However, if you want to take the bridge from Starknet back to Ethereum, you need two separate transactions. Users often forget the second step, as it is relevant only once your funds are actually moved to L1, sometimes hours after you initiated your transaction.

First you initiate the withdrawal on layer-2 with your Starknet wallet, then you need to wait till the block containing the transaction has been proved and verified by the Starknet verifier smart contract on Ethereum L1. This can take a few hours.

Then you will need to connect again with your Ethereum wallet to StarkGate and issue a withdraw transaction, withdrawing the funds from the Ethereum side of the bridge.

Until you do this, the funds will remain in the L1 side of the bridge and won’t go through to your L1 wallet.

SpaceShard has been working together with StarkGate to simplify this process and offer a service (a.k.a Keeper) that carries out the withdrawal for you in exchange for a small fee.

You can take advantage of this feature by checking the “Use the automatic withdrawal service by SpaceShard” box.

*******

I usually use the Braavos wallet when using Starknet. It has a user-friendly interface, easy setup, and a system for evaluating your progress on Starknet — Pro Score. Withdrawing funds from Starknet to Ethereum will increase your Pro Score.

So, I have described to you the differences between StarkGate and other bridges and pointed out its advantages, which are higher security of transferring your coins. I hope you find it useful.

And finally, a few links:

StarkGate — https://starkgate.starknet.io/
Braavos — https://braavos.app/.Starknet — https://starknet.io/

Article based on materials from https://braavos.app/blog/

Currently, there are quite a few different blockchains and different L2 solutions to improve Ethereum scalability. Users often need to transfer their assets from one blockchain to another or to an L2 network. That’s why bridges fulfill this task.

For Starknet, the main bridge that connects it to Ethereum is StarkGate. You can transfer your ETH or other coins from Ethereum to Starknet and vice versa. This bridge may seem a bit more complicated than the others, but it has its advantages.

It must be said right away that Ethereum and Starknet do not have the same addresses and use different types of wallets. This is due to the fact that Starknet has certain differences in its construction.

For Ethereum, you can connect Metamask or a number of other wallets for this network to the bridge. For Starknet, you can use Braavos or Argent X.

The bridging process is usually fairly simple: you deposit your tokens on one side of the bridge and receive an equivalent amount of tokens on the other.

The tokens are locked on one side of the bridge and the new tokens are minted on the other (the system is known as ‘lock-and-mint’ for this reason).

The StarkGate bridge works on this basis, too.

There are two major points that make bridging on Starknet different, and mean you can’t use the same address on both sides.

1. Starknet does not have the same address space as Ethereum.

Starknet is written in Cairo while Ethereum is written in Solidity. This means that, while Ethereum account addresses contain 40 hexadecimal characters, Starknet account addresses contain 63.

1. Starknet is based on the concept of account abstraction.

Account abstraction splits wallets into two parts: the surface-level interface and a smart contract underneath, which allows us to add multi-factor verification and loads of other advanced features.

However, it also means that every wallet on Starknet is a smart contract wallet, and every transaction on Starknet has to go through the account smart contract before it can interact with any other contract on-chain.

We all know that bridges are hacked. In fact, bridges are one of the most obvious points of failure in cryptography.

There are two reasons for this:

1. Bridges are only as strong as their weakest link. If one side of the bridge gets hacked, funds are lost.

2. Bridges usually have a centralized control system in the form of multisig wallets. Often, individual wallets (signers) are targeted and compromised, which means an attacker can gain control over the entire bridge.

However Starknet, and other ZK rollups, inherit the security of the Layer 1 Ethereum blockchain. Furthermore, the bridge operations (in this case, StarkGate) are verified by the verifier contract on Ethereum L1.

Other bridges rely on validators (humans). However, the Starknet bridge uses incorruptible math, not validators.

1. Log in to your Braavos wallet and a wallet you use on Ethereum, such as Metamask.

2. Connect your Ethereum and Starknet wallets.

3. Choose a token (coin) and enter the amount you want to transfer.

4. Сhoose whether you want to deposit or withdraw funds from Ethereum or Starknet.

5. Click “Transfer” and confirm the transaction in your wallet

When you transfer funds from Ethereum to Starknet, it all happens in a single transaction.

However, if you want to take the bridge from Starknet back to Ethereum, you need two separate transactions. Users often forget the second step, as it is relevant only once your funds are actually moved to L1, sometimes hours after you initiated your transaction.

First you initiate the withdrawal on layer-2 with your Starknet wallet, then you need to wait till the block containing the transaction has been proved and verified by the Starknet verifier smart contract on Ethereum L1. This can take a few hours.

Then you will need to connect again with your Ethereum wallet to StarkGate and issue a withdraw transaction, withdrawing the funds from the Ethereum side of the bridge.

Until you do this, the funds will remain in the L1 side of the bridge and won’t go through to your L1 wallet.

SpaceShard has been working together with StarkGate to simplify this process and offer a service (a.k.a Keeper) that carries out the withdrawal for you in exchange for a small fee.

You can take advantage of this feature by checking the “Use the automatic withdrawal service by SpaceShard” box.

*******

I usually use the Braavos wallet when using Starknet. It has a user-friendly interface, easy setup, and a system for evaluating your progress on Starknet — Pro Score. Withdrawing funds from Starknet to Ethereum will increase your Pro Score.

So, I have described to you the differences between StarkGate and other bridges and pointed out its advantages, which are higher security of transferring your coins. I hope you find it useful.

And finally, a few links:

StarkGate — https://starkgate.starknet.io/
Braavos — https://braavos.app/.Starknet — https://starknet.io/

Article based on materials from https://braavos.app/blog/