Wormhole has now made it possible for anyone to bridge their NFTs to Aptos, and from Aptos to the other chains as well. The Wormhole bridge was already working for the tokens, i.e. you could always convert your tokens like SOL, ETH, and others to Aptos and get them sent onto the Aptos network in the form of either APT or the other tokens that are available on the Aptos network. But this new update brings the possibility of bridging NFTs and getting them sent from other networks to Aptos, and vice-versa.
While the NFT can be transferred from one chain to the other, Wormhole makes sure that the metadata is preserved and shows up on the new chain where it ends up. When an NFT is transferred out of any other chain to Aptos, here is what happens.
- The NFT gets locked up in the NFT bridge smart contract.
- An equivalent wrapped NFT is minted into a corresponding collection on the destination chain.
This wrapped NFT has the same name, looks the same as the original one, and behaves exactly like other NFTs on the chain. On EVM chains, the wrapped NFTs are ERC721 tokens, on Solana, they’re SPL tokens with Metaplex metadata, and on Aptos, they’re instances of the Aptos Token standard.
In addition to the name and look, what makes the wrapped NFTs unique is the ability to send them back to the original chain and unlock the original NFT. This means, for example, that an NFT that originates from Aptos can be bridged to Ethereum, subsequently sold on Opensea and then transferred back to Aptos by the new owner.
Which chains support the NFT bridging via Wormhole to Aptos?
The chains that support bridging of NFTs from/to Aptos include Arbitrum, Aurora, Avalanche, BSC, Celo, Ethereum, Fantom, Karura, Klaytn, Moonbeam, Oasis, Optimsm, Polygon, and Solana.
How much are the charges for bridging NFTs to Aptos?
It is the usual transaction charges that are spent for the bridging to happen on both chains. For example, if the NFT is on the Ethereum chain, the charges depend on the time of bridging and the network congestion, and it can take a few dollars as the normal transaction fee, and the second transaction is to be done on the Aptos network to redeem the NFT on Aptos, and that is the transaction fee charged to complete the process.
How to bridge an NFT from another chain to Aptos?
Open Wormhole NFT Bridge platform
The first step is to decide which NFT and from which chain are you going to bridge to Aptos. Choose the chain, and then connect the wallet and you will see the list of available NFTs to bridge from that wallet. Select the NFT, and it shows up on the page. As an example, we tried bridging Macks NFT from the Solana chain.
Go to the next step where you choose the target, i.e. the recipient chain and address. Here, click on Aptos and connect the Aptos wallet where you want to send the NFT.
In the next step, tap on “Transfer” and it would open your Solana wallet transaction pop-up with the details mentioning that the NFT will be gone from your Solana wallet and there will be a transaction fee that will be charged. Confirm it, and you will see the confirmations on the screen.
Now, the NFT is sent once all the needed confirmations are done. The final step is here. Redeem the NFT on the recipient chain wallet. In this case, you have to do it on the wallet that you used earlier as the Aptos recipient wallet. Click on Redeem and you will see the transaction pop-up on the Aptos wallet. Confirm it and you will see the NFT on your Aptos wallet.
It’s easy, but you might need that confidence and guidance for the first time if you are new to bridging. Wormhole has made the interface very easy for users with any level of knowledge and experience.
Can I send NFT back from Aptos to the original chain?
The best part about wrapped NFTs is that they have the ability to get sent back to the original chain as they were, and the NFT can be unlocked in the original chain. Even if the NFT is traded on the new chain, the new owner can choose to keep it or take it back to its original chain and see it as it is.
“With the Aptos NFT bridge, Wormhole brings a new level of interoperability to the network. Aptos welcomes millions of assets, thousands of creators and artists from across the many chains accessible via this bridge.” – Mo Shaikh, Co-Founder & CEO @aptoslabs
Source: Wormhole
