Bridge Assets Between Chains
The Elastos ecosystem has multiple chains, and you may need to move ELA between them. The most common transfer is between the ELA main chain (for staking and voting) and ESC (for smart contracts and DeFi).
Why Bridge?
| If you want to... | You need ELA on... |
|---|---|
| Stake or vote | Main chain |
| Use DeFi or NFTs | ESC |
| Deploy smart contracts | ESC |
| Create a DID | EID |
Bridging in Essentials
Essentials has a built-in cross-chain transfer feature:
- Open Essentials and go to your Wallet tab
- Tap on Transfer or look for a Cross-Chain option
- Select the source chain (e.g., Main Chain)
- Select the destination chain (e.g., ESC)
- Enter the amount to transfer
- Review the details and confirm
- Enter your spending password
Transfer Times
Cross-chain transfers are secured by 12 DAO nodes. Expect:
- Main chain to ESC: ~12–15 minutes (6 main-chain block confirmations)
- ESC to main chain: ~12–15 minutes (6 main-chain block confirmations)
Fees
Cross-chain transfers incur a small fee to cover the arbiter processing. The exact fee is displayed before you confirm the transaction.
Important Notes
- Transfers below 0.01 ELA may not be processed
- Make sure you have enough ELA on the source chain to cover the transfer plus fees
- The destination address is automatically your own wallet address on the other chain