Warp Route Types

Hyperlane Warp Routes support several bridging models to accommodate different token types:

Native Token Warp Routes

For bridging of native gas tokens (e.g., ETH) between chains, these routes lock the tokens on the source chain, mint wrapped representations on the destination chain, and support direct transfers without requiring users to perform manual wrapping operations. This enables gas tokens to easily move across connected networks while maintaining their redeemability.

Collateral-Backed ERC20 Warp Routes

For existing ERC20 tokens, tokens are held as collateral in a contract on the source chain and synthetic representations are minted on the destination chain, using SafeERC20 standards to ensure tokens from established networks can be used across multiple chains while remaining fully backed by the original assets.

Synthetic ERC20 Warp Routes

When creating new representations of tokens, ERC20 Warp Routes create cross-chain representations of tokens that maintain consistent total supply across the network. When a token moves between chains, it's burned on the source chain and minted on the destination chain. These routes support custom token attributes (name, symbol, decimals) and are particularly useful for tokens native to the rollup that need presence on multiple chains.

Source: docs.hyperlane.xyz