Polkadot's governing body is currently assessing a suggestion to activate SnowBridge, a connection over multiple chains crafted to unite Polkadot and Ethereum. This decentralized application (DApp) aims to improve the usefulness of tokens by facilitating smooth asset transfers across different blockchains, thereby encouraging liquidity exchange across chains.

Observers in the market have pointed out SnowBridge's potential to provide Polkadot access to Ethereum's extensive DeFi environment. This proposition has gained significant support from the community, with all current votes indicating a preference for its adoption. Should it be greenlit, SnowBridge is expected to go live in approximately 28 days.

What exactly is SnowBridge?

SnowBridge stands as one of the bridges currently under development within the Polkadot setup. Jointly formed by Snowfork and Parity Technologies, its target is to modernize the process of transferring Ethereum assets to and fro Polkadot.

At present, incorporating ERC-20 tokens into Polkadot necessitates the inclusion of third-party endorsements, a common practice within Web3 systems. However, this poses a trust model challenge for Polkadot's Parachains and decentralized applications (dApps).

SnowBridge introduces a trustless model, where only endorsements from first-party validators from Ethereum and Polkadot are relied upon. Functioning on BridgeHub, it pledges to improve the cross-chain interaction between the two platforms, Polkadot and Ethereum.

Extensive development and testing have taken place for SnowBridge, including its deployment on the Rococo Polkadot parachain testnet in January 2024. Initially supporting ERC-20 tokens, ongoing enhancements and security checks are underway to ensure its safety and smooth performance.