Definition
Bridge latency is a metric that measures how long it takes for value or data to move from one blockchain to another through a bridge. It captures the elapsed time from when a cross-chain transaction is submitted on the source network until it is recognized as confirmed and available on the destination network. This delay reflects both on-chain processing and any off-chain coordination that the bridge relies on. In decentralized finance, bridge latency is a key performance characteristic for cross-chain activity and user experience.
The metric is closely related to the concept of finality on each involved chain, because a bridge typically waits for sufficient confirmation before treating a transaction as irreversible. Longer finality times or additional security checks generally increase bridge latency, while faster settlement properties can reduce it. Bridge latency can be expressed as an average, median, or distribution of times across many transfers. It is often monitored to compare different bridge designs and to understand the responsiveness of cross-chain interactions.
Context and Usage
In practice, bridge latency is used to characterize the performance of a bridge within the broader DeFi ecosystem. It helps describe how quickly assets or messages can move between networks, which affects strategies that depend on timely cross-chain coordination. High bridge latency can indicate that a bridge is prioritizing stronger security assumptions or waiting for deeper finality on the source chain. Lower bridge latency suggests faster cross-chain availability, subject to the underlying trust and validation model of the bridge.
This metric is relevant for comparing different bridges that connect the same or similar networks, especially when they rely on distinct mechanisms for verification and settlement. It also provides a way to reason about the temporal gap between economic actions on one chain and their reflected state on another. As blockchains with varying finality properties and throughput are interconnected, bridge latency becomes an important indicator of how seamlessly they can operate together. In this sense, it links the technical behavior of a bridge with the practical timing constraints of cross-chain DeFi activity.