Learn how it all actually works

Solana, Robinhood Chain and Arc are separate networks that speak different languages. Bridge in the Hood puts all three behind one screen.

Solana

Where your SOL lives. Addresses look like a long mix of letters and numbers and are case-sensitive. Phantom is the wallet most people use here.

Robinhood Chain

An EVM network — the same family as Ethereum. Addresses start with 0x, the gas asset is ETH, and wallets like MetaMask, Rabby or OKX can hold it.

Arc

Another EVM network, built by Circle. It uses the same 0x addresses, but the gas and native currency is USDC instead of ETH, so balances there are priced in dollars.

Why they can't talk directly

A Solana transaction cannot move a token on an EVM chain. Something in the middle has to take your asset on one side and release the matching asset on the other. That middle piece is the bridge.

You need an address on each side. Bridge in the Hood gives you both without asking you to write down a new seed phrase.

The Solana side

That's simply your Phantom (or OKX) account. Nothing new is created and Bridge in the Hood never sees your keys.

The Robinhood Chain and Arc side

The first time you connect, you sign one message. That signature becomes a private key that only exists in your browser, and it always produces the same 0x address. Because both chains are EVM, that single address receives your funds on Robinhood Chain and on Arc.

Bring your own instead

Already have an EVM wallet? Connect MetaMask, Rabby, OKX or Phantom's EVM account and the app will use that address instead of the derived one.

Export any time

The Portfolio page can reveal the private key of the derived wallet so you can import it into any EVM wallet. Anyone with that key owns the funds — treat it like cash.

Before anything moves, the app asks a routing service what you would receive for what you're paying.

Price

The live market rate for the pair, refreshed while the screen is open. Big amounts can move the price against you — that's slippage.

Fees

Two kinds: network fees paid to each chain for including your transaction, and a small routing fee for the party fronting the asset on the other side.

Time

Most routes settle in seconds. Slower ones wait for more confirmations on the origin chain before releasing on the destination.

Nothing is teleported. Your asset is deposited on one chain and an equivalent asset is released to you on the other.

1. Deposit

You sign a single transaction that sends your asset to the route's deposit address on the chain you're paying from.

2. Detection

The router watches that chain. Once your deposit has enough confirmations, the order is marked as funded.

3. Release

A matching amount is sent to your address on the destination chain. You get a second transaction hash — the app links to both explorers.

4. Both directions

The same three steps run in reverse. Paying with ETH on Robinhood Chain, or with USDC on Arc, to receive SOL is the identical flow with the chains flipped.

Follow 1 SOL through the whole bridge — and back. These numbers are an illustration, not a live quote.

1. You · Solana

   −1.00 SOL

   →

2. Bridge deposit

   1.00 SOL arrives

   →

3. Routing fee ~0.5%

   ≈ $1.05

   →

4. Bridge release

   0.04975 ETH sent

   →

5. You · Robinhood Chain

   +0.04975 ETH

Step 1 · You pay 1.00 SOL

Your Phantom wallet signs one Solana transaction: 1.00 SOL plus about 0.000005 SOL of network fee leaves your address for the bridge's deposit account on Solana.

Step 2 · The bridge values it

Say 1 SOL is worth $210 at that moment. The bridge takes a small routing cut — call it 0.5%, about $1.05 — so $208.95 of value is credited to your order.

Step 3 · ETH is released to you

If ETH trades at $4,200, your $208.95 becomes about 0.04975 ETH. It is sent straight to your Robinhood Chain address — no second signature needed.

Step 4 · Coming back home

Later you swap 0.04975 ETH back. Another ~0.5% routing fee applies, and the Solana-side release lands in your Phantom as roughly 0.99 SOL. Both transactions appear in your history with links to each explorer.

A token purchase is a bridge plus a swap, bundled into one order so you only approve what's needed.

Buying

Pay SOL or ETH, and the route ends in the token you picked, delivered to your address on its own chain.

Selling

Same route backwards. On EVM chains a sale usually needs two signatures: one approval that lets the router move that token, then the sale itself.

Approvals

An approval is permission, not a payment. It still costs a little gas and it is worth granting only to contracts you intend to trade with.

Most losses in crypto are not hacks — they are a person clicking the wrong thing.

Read before you sign

Your wallet shows the amount and the destination. If they don't match what the screen promised, reject it.

Never share a key

No support person, giveaway or airdrop ever needs your private key or recovery phrase. Anyone asking is stealing.

Check the token address

Anyone can name a token anything. Paste the contract address from a source you trust rather than picking by name.

Start small

Send a tiny first amount through a new route, confirm it lands, then send the rest.