It is starting to seem that (at least in the short to medium term future) we are going to have a multi-chain crypto ecosystem. This means that we are going to need some trust-less bridges across networks to be able to port tokens and liquidity across.

Currently, I use Hop Protocol and ThorChain to do most of my heavy lifting across networks. They have their own particular strengths and weaknesses. Hop Protocol allowing me to bypass the expensive Ethereum mainnet to move liquidity across the various Ethereum Layer 2s (at the cost of limited tokens and native coins like ETH/MATIC and stablecoins). Meanwhile, ThorChain allows for the native swaps across supported networks via pooled liquidity. I'm also quite keen to see what Osmosis (from the Cosmos/ATOM ecosystem) will offer once it has its EVM compatibility up and running.

So, what does Symbiosis offer that is new in the space and make it stand out in a crowd of trustless bridges? Well, there is one thing (aside from the EVM and non-EVM network compatibility)... and that is the additional step of sending orders onwards to DEXs to give users access to a much wider range of tokens than can be locked up in the bridging pools. Not everyone will want that extra ease of use... but I'm sure that there are many people who would prefer not to have to be bothered with an extra step of converting the bridged tokens to the actual tokens that they wanted on a DEX!

The currently supported networks for Symbiosis are the three big ones in Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain (or whatever it is called now...) and Polygon. There is also the addition of Avalanche, with which I'm not really familiar with as I've not played in that particular sandbox yet. Ethereum, BSC and Polygon are the main EVM chains (you could argue that BSC and Polygon are just sidechains of the Ethereum network...), and I'm a little bit surprised that the rest of the Ethereum L2s aren't yet supported... but I'm sure that that is coming soon!

So, liquidity is held in cross chain pools... and at the time that I checked, the liquidity was weirdly low. These things will change I'm sure... they always do when people see the crazily high APRs. However, when I checked just a moment ago, the liquidity still wasn't that high... and the APRs had dropped quite significantly.

Anyway, from this point of view, there isn't much that is interesting or revolutionary... this operates much like any other cross-chain bridging pool. So, let us take a look a bit behind the scenes in the documentation to see if we can see how things work...

The first schematic is just an illustration of how the relay network listens in for instructions from the various supported block-chains. It is envisaged that the network should be able to support unlimited networks when it is fully operational.

Currently, it is only four blockchains that are supported. However, it is possible to move directly from one to another without needing to pass through a mandatory network. This is important in the case of the Ethereum main-net which can take a hefty chunk of ETH in network fees at the moment! It just occurred to me that this diagram is going to not scale well with more networks being added...

So, the cross-chain liquidity is handled by the native and wrapped tokens, with the s-tokens being the sythentic token that is on the "non-native" chain. The smart contracts ensure that the wrapped AND synthetic tokens are fully backed by the deposits into the smart contracts. So far, so much is still very much similar to the way that things are handled by other bridging protocols.

Now, here is where things do get more interesting! This is where a user specifies a non-pooled token swap, and this is where Synthesis shows off its unique ability to cross-chain swap an unlimited range of tokens that are supported by the various DEXs on the swap chains.

As far as the user sees, they just make a request to Synthesis for a swap of one token for another. Everything else occurs behind the scenes...

.. so, what is happening. Synthesis take the deposited token and finds the best price for it on a DEX on the starting chain, exchanging that token for one of the pooled assets. This pooled asset is used to swap over to the other supported chain via the liquidity pools, and the reverse procedure is followed. Namely, the pooled stablecoin is swapped for the desired asset on an resident DEX and sent onwards to the user. Nifty... and for many people, they a relieved of the hassle of dealing directly with the DEXs and searching for their best prices! Trust me, that is quite a big deal....

So... will this trick be enough to elbow out other cross-network bridges? I'm not sure, but I do think that it does provide users with a level of convenience that they would be happy to pay some small fees for. If you have ever played around on any of the DeFi protocols... well, you will know that interacted individually with a multitude of smart contracts and platforms is a real pain in the arse! Plus, you don't really know if there is a malicious or weak point in the whole chain of transactions... I'm quite interested in this sort of feature. And I think that other people might be interested in the extra convenience!

However, those low liquidity pools still bother me a little bit...

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Handy Crypto Tools

Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
Kucoin: My second choice in exchanges, many tokens listed here that you can't get on Binance!
FTX: Regulated US-based exchange with some pretty interesting and useful discounts on trading and withdrawal fees for FTT holders. Decent fiat on-ramp as well!
MXC: Listings of lots of interesting tokens that are usually only available on DEXs. Avoid high gas prices!
Huobi: One of the largest exchanges in the world, some very interesting listings and early access sales through Primelist.
Gate.io: If you are after some of the weirdest and strangest tokens, this is one of the easiest off-chain places to get them!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.
Stoic: A USD maximisation bot trading on Binance using long-term long strategies, powered by the AI/human system of Cindicator.
StakeDAO: Decentralised pooled staking of PoS assets.
Poloniex: One of the older regulated exchanges that has come into new ownership. I used to use it quite a lot, but have since stopped.
Bitfinex: Ahhh... another oldie, but a goodie exchange. Most noted for the close affiliation with USDT and the Basic "no-KYC" tier!