Hyperlane Warp Routes (HWR) are modular cross-chain asset bridges that enable the transfer of tokens between chains using Hyperlane. Developers can use Hyperlane to permissionlessly deploy HWRs to move assets between chains.

They support various asset types, including:

  • ERC20 & ERC721 tokens (for EVM-compatible chains)
  • SVM-based assets (for SVM-compatible chains)
  • Native tokens (such as ETH, or other gas tokens)

You can combine HWR with a Hyperlane deployment to create economic routes between any chain and others already connected through Hyperlane.

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Modular Security

Like all applications built on top of Hyperlane, HWRs have customizable security via Interchain Security Modules.

The deployer of a HWR can specify the ISMs that are used to verify interchain transfer messages. This means that each HWR may have a unique security configuration. Users transferring interchain tokens should understand the trust assumptions of a Route before using it.

Similarly, Warp frontends should manually curate their HWR to avoid supporting insecure ones. See the Warp UI deployment docs details.

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HWR Architecture

HWR let deployers choose how tokens are transferred between chains. Depending on the type of HWR, contracts will lock tokens, mint wrapped tokens, burn wrapped tokens, or release original tokens.

For example:

  1. Collateral → Synthetic: Tokens are locked on the origin (collateral) chain, a message is sent, and wrapped tokens are minted on the destination (synthetic) chain.
  2. Native → Synthetic: Native gas tokens (e.g., ETH) are locked on the origin chain, a message is sent, and synthetic tokens are minted on the destination chain.
  3. Native → Collateral: Native tokens are locked on the origin chain, a message is sent, and collateral tokens are released on the destination chain.

Each HWR requires a contract deployed on every chain its on that acts as an entry/exists point. These contracts use the Mailbox to send interchain messages to one another.

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HWR Types

This table gives a high-level overview of HWR types. For detailed explanations, see: HWR Types.

HWR TypeDescription
Native Token HWRsEnables direct transfers of native gas tokens (e.g., ETH) across chains without wrapping.
Collateral-Backed ERC20Locks ERC20 tokens as collateral on the source chain for cross-chain transfers.
Synthetic ERC20Mints new ERC20 tokens on the destination chain to represent the original tokens.
Hyperlane Warp Routes 2.0Allows liquidity to be sourced from multiple collateral tokens.
Specialized HWRAdds advanced features or integrates with specific use cases (e.g., vaults, fiat-backed tokens.)

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Example Architecture

Let’s walk through a Collateral to Synthetic HWR using the lock-and-mint model to transfer ERC20 tokens between two chains:

  1. The user locks their tokens on the collateral chain (e.g., Ethereum) in the HWR contract.
  2. A message is sent through Hyperlane’s Mailbox and relayed to the synthetic chain (e.g., Base).
  3. On the destination chain, the HWR contract mints wrapped tokens to the user.

In the diagram below, the ISM is a Multisig ISM, which uses a set of validators to approve messages. (Note: Not all ISMs require validators, this depends on the chosen security model.)

Here’s a simplified view of the flow:

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Deploy a HWR

HWR can be deployed between any set of chains that have Hyperlane deployments.

To deploy a HWR, head over to the following guides:

If you would like to create a HWR that includes a chain that Hyperlane is not currently deployed on, feel free to deploy Hyperlane yourself!