This metric shows the net USD value flowing into, or out of Ethereum bridge smart contracts, calculated as bridge deposits minus bridge withdrawals. It can also be considered to represent the net USD value flowing in, or out of the Ethereum blockchain via bridges. A positive value means that there is more value being deposited into bridges, which translates into a net value outflow from Ethereum. On the other hand, a negative value means that there is more USD value being withdrawn from bridges, which translates into more USD value flowing back into Ethereum.

Bridges are protocols that enable digital assets to be transferred from one blockchain to another. When an asset is transferred out of Ethereum, it gets deposited and locked into a bridge smart contract. When the asset is transferred back to Ethereum, it is withdrawn and released from the smart contract.

This metric only includes bridge contracts on the Ethereum side. The bridges included in this metric cover bridge deposits into both L1 and L2 blockchains, providing information on the value transferred to both L1 competitors, and L2 scaling solutions. Each bridge included in this metric represents a single blockchain, except the ones labeled as multichain. That label is used to represent bridges that allow transferring assets across multiple different chains.