tracking bridging aggregator volumes by chain

Tracking bridging aggregator volumes by chain involves monitoring the total value (often in USD) of assets moved cross-chain via bridging aggregators over time. Here’s a structured approach to do it:

1. Define Key Metrics

• 

  Bridged Volume: Total value transferred per chain (source and destination).

• Number of Transactions: Count of bridge transactions.

• Unique Users: Addresses initiating or receiving via bridges.

• Average Transaction Size.

• Top Assets Bridged: Often stablecoins, ETH, native tokens.

2. Data Sources

On-Chain Data

• Use blockchain explorers (Etherscan, Arbiscan, etc.) for specific bridge contracts.

• Track bridge contract addresses on each chain.

• Example bridges:

• Multichain (formerly Anyswap)

• Stargate

• Wormhole

• LayerZero-based bridges

• Hop Protocol

• Across

• Celer cBridge

• Polygon PoS Bridge

• Arbitrum Bridge

• Optics (Celo) etc.

Aggregator Platforms

• Bungee (Socket), LI.FI, Squid (Axelar), Router Nitro, Rango.

• They source liquidity from multiple bridges; track their aggregator contracts.

Analytics Platforms

• Dune Analytics: Custom dashboards (e.g., cross_chain_bridge_activity, stargate_finance, layerzero).

• DefiLlama: Has a bridges dashboard tracking total value locked in bridges (but not purely volume).

• Messari, Flipside Crypto, Token Terminal (for institutional).

• Bridge monitoring platforms:

• Bridgemutual

• Chaineye

• Footprint Analytics

3. Methodology

Step 1 – Identify Bridge Contracts

List all bridge/aggregator contract addresses per chain.

Step 2 – Query Transaction Logs

Filter for:

• Deposit/Withdraw/Mint/Burn events.

• Value in native or USD terms.

Example for EVM chains:

-- Dune style query for bridge volumes

SELECT 

    DATE(block_time) AS date,

    SUM(amount_usd) AS volume_usd,

    COUNT(*) AS tx_count

FROM bridge_transactions

WHERE bridge = 'Stargate'

    AND source_chain = 'Ethereum'

GROUP BY 1

Step 3 – Aggregate by Aggregator

Some aggregators split routes across bridges; track their main contract to capture total volume.

4. Tools for Tracking

Dashboards

• Dune:

• Cross-chain Bridge Comparison

• Stargate Analytics

• LayerZero Bridge Volume

• DefiLlama Bridges: Tracks TVL, not daily volume directly but gives insights.

• Crypto Fees Info: Some bridge fee tracking implies volume.

API Access

• Chainbase, Covalent, Flipside, Space and Time for querying via API.

• The Graph: Subgraphs for specific bridges (e.g., Hop, Connext).

Custom Scripts

• Use web3.py or ethers.js to fetch logs from bridge contracts.

• Example: Track LogMessagePublished on Wormhole core contracts.

5. Challenges

• Double Counting: Aggregators using multiple bridges may double count if not deduped.

• USD Value Calculation: Asset prices at time of bridging vs. current.

• Multiple Assets: Need price feeds per asset.

• New Bridges/Aggregators: Rapidly evolving landscape.

6. Example Breakdown by Chain

7. Recommended Starting Points

1. DefiLlama Bridges: Quick overview of bridge TVL per chain.

2. Dune Dashboards: Fork and customize existing bridge queries.

3. Socket/Bungee API: For aggregator-specific volumes.

4. Chain-specific analytics: e.g., Arbitrum Bridge Tracker, Polygon Bridge.