Cross Chain Bridges to Base 2025

We conducted a comprehensive speed and price analysis of available native Bitcoin bridge options to Base in 2025, and the results are quite revealing. Rather than relying on theoretical quotes, we analyzed real transaction data to provide an accurate comparison when bridging BTC to cbBTC.

We will test BTC to cbBTC swap and vice versa across the following applications:

• Thorswap 
• Garden 
• Relay 

For this comparison, we will focus on the following swap amounts:

• 0.0001 BTC
• 0.1 BTC
• 1 BTC

Bridging .0001 Bitcoin to Base  

BTC to cbBTC Swap 

cbBTC to BTC Swap 

While bridging BTC to/from cbBTC on the Base chain, Garden provides the best price and speed for a 0.0001 BTC amount. Garden outperformed in terms of swap duration and the amount received. Garden is the most efficient alternative to Thorswap.

Bridge .1 Bitcoin to Base 

BTC to cbBTC Swap

cbBTC to BTC Swap 

Relay seems to provide the best exchange rate for this swap amount. One thing to note here is that Thorswap and Relay do not include slippage in the quote, and the actual amount received in the wallet is slightly lower than the quoted amount. 

Swap 1 Bitcoin to Base 

BTC to cbBTC Swap

cbBTC to BTC Swap 

This test was a bit costly. Thorswap charged $654 in fees, while Garden charged only $76, which is quite low. The difference in speed and cost between Garden and Thorswap, especially at higher amounts, is hard to ignore, highlighting the competitive advantage of intent-based bridges as trade sizes increase.

The Final Verdict: 

Garden is the best Bitcoin bridge to Base or vice versa, in terms of speed and price. Garden makes a dent for large Bitcoin bridging transactions, coming out 88% cheaper than the nearest contender for the cbBTC to BTC swap. Relay provides better rates for medium-sized trades but lacks liquidity for large trade sizes. The 30-second speed for Bitcoin cross-chain swaps is unheard of. 

Overall, whether you're looking for a base bridge, base to eth bridge functionality, or the fastest bitcoin swap experience, Garden delivers the best cross chain bridge performance for Bitcoin users in 2025.

Notes: 

• Please note that USD values at the time you read this may vary slightly depending on current asset prices. 
• This exercise aimed to compare Bitcoin bridges to Base in 2025 objectively.  
• Thorswap and Relay do not include slippage in their quotes, and Garden does not currently have any slippage on transactions. 
• This comparison reflects the bridges supported by Thorswap, as an aggregator, at the time of publication.