Attestation
A signed message from bridge validators or guardians confirming that an event — typically a token lock — occurred on the source chain. Solana minting programs rely on attestations before releasing wrapped assets.
Terminology glossary
Plain definitions for terms that appear in Solana bridge documentation, incident reports, and our articles. Bookmark this page or book a guided walkthrough if your team is onboarding.
A–C
Canonical bridge
The bridge route officially recognized by a token issuer or protocol for moving its asset between chains. Using a non-canonical route may result in unbacked or non-redeemable wrapped tokens.
Custody model
Describes who holds locked assets during a cross-chain transfer. Models range from fully trustless smart contracts to multisig wallets operated by a bridge company.
D–G
Finality
The point at which a transaction on a source chain is considered irreversible. Bridges that act before finality risk minting on Solana for transfers that later get reorganized.
Guardian network
A set of independent validators (for example, Wormhole's 19 guardians) that observe source-chain events and produce attestations. Compromise of a supermajority can lead to unauthorized mints.
H–L
Light client
On-chain code that verifies block headers from another chain without running a full node. Light-client bridges aim to reduce trust in off-chain relayers but add implementation complexity.
Lock-and-mint
The most common bridge pattern: assets are locked in a contract on the source chain, and an equivalent amount of wrapped tokens is minted on Solana. Redemption burns wrapped tokens and unlocks originals.
Liveness
Whether a bridge continues to process transfers during network congestion or validator outages. A bridge with poor liveness can leave assets locked for extended periods.
M–R
Mint authority
The Solana program or account allowed to create new wrapped tokens. Compromise of mint authority enables unlimited inflation of bridged assets on Solana.
Relayer
An off-chain actor that submits proofs or attestations to destination-chain contracts. Relayers are not always trusted, but delays or censorship by relayers can stall transfers.
S–Z
Source chain
The blockchain from which assets originate in a cross-chain transfer. Finality rules and contract addresses on the source chain directly affect bridge security.
Wrapped token
A Solana SPL token representing an asset locked on another chain. Its value depends entirely on the bridge's ability to redeem it for the underlying asset.