Cross-Chain

Moving assets or messages between different blockchains. Approaches include lock-and-mint bridges (WBTC-style wrapped assets), IBC (cryptographic verification without wrapping), atomic swaps (HTLC-based), and intent-based cross-chain (Across model). Cross-chain is one of the highest-risk areas of crypto — most major DeFi exploits ($625M Ronin, $325M Wormhole, $190M Nomad) have been cross-chain.