Protocol has bridge surface
A cross-chain & bridge factor in the v1.7.0 rubric. Measured per protocol on a s cadence.
Methodology how we score #
**What this measures** This factor is a Boolean gate for the rest of Category 10: it records whether the protocol has any bridge surface — either its own bridge, a bridge-operated dependency for cross-chain routing, or a cross-chain messaging layer (LayerZero OFT, Wormhole, Axelar). Source inspection and protocol documentation are used. Non-bridge protocols show this entire category as N/A and the category is not counted against the rubric score.
**Why it matters** Category 10 applies only to bridge-touching protocols; this factor determines whether any of the subsequent 11 bridge-architecture factors are relevant for assessment. Bridges represent a qualitatively different security surface from single-chain DeFi: they require message authentication across trust domains, validator-set integrity, and replay protection — failure modes that do not exist in purely single-chain protocols. The dataset records over $2B in bridge-related losses historically. Accurate identification of bridge surface at the profiling stage prevents both false positives (scoring bridge factors on a single-chain protocol) and false negatives (missing a bridge dependency embedded in a routing layer).
**Green / Yellow / Red** Green is scored when the protocol has no bridge surface and all Category 10 factors are correctly recorded as N/A. For bridge-touching protocols, this factor is recorded as "present" and the remaining Cat 10 factors are activated. Red is not applicable to this factor itself — its function is categorical rather than evaluative.
**Common gray cases** Gray is applied when the protocol uses a token bridge or relayer in an optional or non-core capacity and it is ambiguous whether the bridge surface is in scope for security assessment.
**Notable historical examples** No cross-hacked incidents are currently linked in the database for this factor.
Measurement what to look for #
Determine whether the protocol has a bridge surface (its own bridge or a bridge-operated dependency for routing/minting).