What Is Relay? Fast Cross-Chain Bridging Across 85+ Blockchains

Moving assets between blockchain networks has traditionally been slow, expensive, and complex. Relay is a cross-chain payments infrastructure that simplifies this process, enabling users and developers to transfer tokens across 85+ blockchains with speed and efficiency that rivals traditional payment systems.

Relay is a multichain payments network designed to make swapping and transacting across hundreds of chains seamless. Since launching in 2024, Relay has served 5 million users, processed 50 million transactions, and driven over $5 billion in volume across 85+ networks.

The platform combines two core components that work together to deliver fast, low-cost cross-chain transactions. First, it provides instant cross-chain intents powered by the Relay Protocol. Second, it offers comprehensive DEX meta-aggregation across 85 chains, allowing users to access the best liquidity sources automatically.

Unlike traditional bridges that require multiple steps and long wait times, Relay abstracts away the complexity. Users simply specify what they want to accomplish, and the system handles the technical execution behind the scenes.

Relay is built as a full-stack solution covering every layer of the multichain payments experience, from end-user applications to protocol-level infrastructure.

The Relay App provides the fastest way to swap tokens across chains. Users can swap ETH on Ethereum for SOL on Solana in one transaction, built on the same infrastructure that powers enterprise customers. This consumer-facing application demonstrates the capabilities available to developers building on Relay.

The app eliminates the need to understand bridges, liquidity pools, or gas tokens. Users connect their wallet, specify what they want, and Relay executes the transaction.

For developers building multichain experiences, the Relay API offers one integration that works across 75+ chains with zero complexity. The API abstracts the hardest parts of multichain development, including instant bridging between chains with predictable fees, seamless swapping using meta-aggregation across major DEXs, and payments-grade user experience with gas sponsorship and guaranteed rates.

Integration is straightforward for teams that want to enable cross-chain functionality without building complex bridging infrastructure themselves. The API handles routing, execution, and settlement while developers focus on their application logic.

The Relay Protocol is the open system connecting users to relayers who execute onchain actions with maximum capital efficiency. The protocol is designed for low gas costs, rapid chain expansion, and enterprise-grade reliability.

This protocol layer ensures that transactions are executed efficiently through a network of relayers who compete to provide the best service. The competitive marketplace benefits users through better pricing and faster execution.

Relay uses an intent-based approach that fundamentally differs from traditional transaction-based blockchain interactions. Intent-based architectures allow users to express their goals while leaving execution details to the system.

When a user wants to bridge assets or execute a cross-chain transaction, they receive a quote from a relayer. The user accepts the quote and sends the assets to the relayer, who validates the transaction and sends the funds to the user on the destination chain. Relayers maintain balances on all supported chains to enable this flow without delays.

This direct interaction between users and relayers eliminates intermediate steps that slow down traditional bridges. Rather than waiting for confirmations on multiple chains and message passing between networks, Relay executes transfers quickly through pre-positioned liquidity.

Relay achieves significant cost savings by splitting cross-chain transactions into three components: asset transfer, order validation, and fee collection. While the asset transfer happens on the origin and destination chains, order validation and fee collection are performed on a cheaper settlement layer.

This architecture minimizes gas paid on expensive chains. Direct transfers between users and relayers are more efficient than routing through complex AMMs or liquidity pools. Direct transfers combined with offchain order validation reduce gas costs to the absolute minimum.

Unlike systems requiring consensus between multiple parties, Relay transactions are executed optimistically by a single relayer. This allows extremely fast transaction confirmation, with small transfers completing in seconds.

Relayers put up bonds that can be slashed if they misbehave, providing economic security without sacrificing speed. This bonded relayer model enables Relay to deliver payments-grade performance that matches user expectations from traditional financial systems.

Relay distinguishes itself from traditional bridging solutions through several technical and experiential advantages.

Unlike traditional bridges, Relay delivers 99.9% uptime across 85+ networks. The system provides fast execution instead of multi-minute wait times, automatic redundancy systems ensuring transactions complete, and clear completion signals for apps and users.

This reliability makes Relay suitable for production applications where transaction certainty is critical. Users don't need to worry about stuck transactions or failed transfers.

Many cross-chain systems require substantial work to add support for new chains, including deploying contracts, establishing consensus, and creating liquidity pools. Relay has a uniquely lightweight model where adding support for a new chain only requires a single relayer willing to operate there.

No smart contracts, consensus mechanisms, or pools are needed. Any relayer can begin supporting a new chain permissionlessly by maintaining a balance there to receive and send user funds. This approach is ideal for a future with dozens or hundreds of relevant chains.

Relay doesn't just bridge assets—it aggregates liquidity across all major decentralized exchanges. When executing swaps, the system sources the best prices from multiple DEXs simultaneously, ensuring users get optimal execution without manually comparing options.

This meta-aggregation extends across 85 chains, providing access to liquidity that would be impossible for individual users to access efficiently. The routing algorithm automatically finds the best path for each transaction based on current market conditions.

Relay's speed and low costs enable various applications that weren't practical with traditional bridging infrastructure.

Relay offers the fastest bridging experience in crypto, with confirmations in seconds for transfers under $1,000. Compared to alternatives, Relay cuts fees by 80% or more by minimizing expensive on-chain operations.

This makes cross-chain transfers practical for everyday transactions, not just large value movements. Users can move assets between chains as casually as sending payments within a single network.

Beyond basic bridging, Relay enables seamless swaps between any supported assets across chains. The system provides aggregated quotes by sourcing liquidity from DEXs on both sides of a trade, similar to how Eco's stablecoin infrastructure optimizes dollar-denominated transfers across networks.

Swap fees are reduced by performing the asset exchange off expensive chains, making frequent trading between networks economically viable.

Relay can subsidize transaction costs for users, enabling gas-free NFT minting and token transfers. This is especially valuable for onboarding mainstream users uncomfortable paying gas fees. The relayer covers the transaction fee upfront and collects repayment in the user's preferred token later.

This capability removes a major barrier to blockchain adoption, allowing applications to provide experiences that feel more like traditional web applications.

Account abstraction separates signing and paying roles in transactions, allowing wallets and onchain apps to subsidize gas for users. Relay extends account abstraction cross-chain, so an account on one chain can sponsor transactions for a user on another.

This unlocks novel UX flows and business models that weren't possible when users had to manage gas tokens on every chain they interact with.

Leading blockchain companies and protocols have integrated Relay to power their cross-chain functionality.

Alchemy, Conduit, and Caldera rely on Relay to provide payment rails to every rollup out of the box. As these companies launch new layer-2 networks, Relay provides instant connectivity to the broader ecosystem without requiring custom bridge development.

This integration means new chains launch with cross-chain capabilities from day one, accelerating their ability to attract users and liquidity.

OpenSea powers cross-chain mints through Relay so collectors never worry about which chain an NFT is on. Phantom wallet collapses complex swaps into seamless flows, allowing users to access assets across chains without leaving the wallet interface.

These integrations demonstrate how Relay enables chain abstraction, where users interact with blockchain applications without needing to understand which chains are involved.

Applications like OneBalance route execution through Relay, letting users access opportunities across chains as easily as checking their balance. The cross-chain infrastructure handles all the complexity of moving assets and executing transactions on multiple networks simultaneously.

The upcoming Relay Protocol represents the evolution toward a fully decentralized network of relayers competing to serve users.

Currently, Relay is powered by a single relayer who handles all liquidity provision and order execution. While this creates an excellent user experience, it introduces centralization risk. The upcoming Relay Protocol will establish an open, trustless network of relayers.

Relayers will stake collateral to participate. Their stakes get slashed if they misbehave, but they earn fees on the volume they process. This creates proper economic incentives for reliable service.

The protocol will feature a system where users can solicit bids from relayers and choose the best combination of price and speed for their needs. Relayers will compete to provide the best pricing and service, ensuring the market remains efficient.

This competition benefits users by preventing any single relayer from extracting excessive fees. Market forces keep pricing competitive while maintaining service quality.

Over time, the protocol can accommodate different types of relayers for different use cases. Some might optimize for speed, others for cost, and others for specific chains or asset types. This specialization and competition between relayers will ensure users always have access to the best possible bridging and cross-chain experience.

Understanding how Relay differs from traditional bridges helps clarify its advantages and appropriate use cases.

Traditional cross-chain bridges use lock-and-mint models where assets are locked on one chain and wrapped tokens are minted on another. These bridges often require waiting for block confirmations, multiple transaction approvals, and holding native tokens for gas on both chains.

Relay eliminates these friction points by using intent-based execution and direct transfers. Users don't interact with wrapped tokens or manage multi-step processes.

While other protocols like UniswapX and CoW Protocol also use intent-based architectures, Relay specifically optimizes for cross-chain use cases. The protocol's architecture, with settlement on a dedicated layer, enables it to support many chains efficiently without deploying contracts on each one.

This design choice makes Relay particularly suited for the expanding multichain ecosystem where new networks launch frequently.

For users wanting to try Relay, the Relay App provides immediate access to cross-chain swapping. The interface is straightforward—connect a wallet, specify the desired swap, and Relay handles execution.

For developers and teams, the Integration Guides provide documentation for adding multichain payments to applications. The API abstracts complexity while providing control over important parameters like slippage tolerance and execution speed.

Enterprise customers can access additional features including dedicated support, custom SLAs, and priority routing. These enterprise features ensure that high-volume applications receive the reliability and performance they require.

As blockchain adoption grows and more networks launch, the need for seamless cross-chain infrastructure becomes increasingly critical. Relay is positioned as infrastructure for this multichain future, where users and applications interact across dozens or hundreds of chains without friction.

The shift toward intent-based architectures represents a fundamental improvement in how people interact with blockchain technology. Rather than requiring users to understand technical details, systems can focus on delivering outcomes.

Relay exemplifies this future by making cross-chain transactions as simple as traditional payments. As the protocol evolves toward full decentralization and expands its solver network, it will become an essential layer connecting the fragmented blockchain ecosystem into a unified network.

What blockchains does Relay support?

Relay supports 85+ blockchain networks including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon, Avalanche, BNB Chain, and many layer-2 networks. The list continues expanding as new chains launch.

How long do Relay transfers take?

Small transfers typically complete in seconds. Larger transfers may take slightly longer but are still faster than traditional bridges that batch transactions over several minutes or hours.

What are the fees for using Relay?

Relay fees are significantly lower than traditional bridges, often 80% less for typical transfers. Exact fees depend on the specific chains and assets involved but are shown upfront before confirming transactions.

Is Relay secure?

Relay uses bonded relayers who stake collateral that can be slashed if they misbehave. This economic security model, combined with the protocol's architecture, provides strong guarantees for users.

Can developers integrate Relay into their applications?

Yes, Relay provides APIs and SDKs that make integration straightforward. Developers can add cross-chain functionality without building complex bridging infrastructure themselves.