Wormhole is a generic message passing protocol that connects to multiple blockchains.
Currently there two features built on top of the generic message passing protocol including:
- A token bridge that allows users to seamlessly bridge wrapped assets between supported chains.
- An NFT bridge that allows ERC721 and SPL NFTs to be transferred between Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Terra, Polygon and Solana.
In this analysis let’s walk through the user-experience of using the Wormhole bridge compared to the Terra Shuttle bridge.
- Wormhole/Portal bridge is available at https://portalbridge.com/#/transfer
Once you arrive at these URLs, here’s the default screen you will see. There is a 4 step process to send the tokens.
Steps to send the tokens
Here are the steps the user needs to go through to send the tokens:
- Select the source chain — Here you can chose from any of the supported chains like Terra, Polygon, Avalanche, Ethereum etc.
- Select the target chain — Similar to 1 but this is where the tokens will be sent
- Select the token to send — In this example I show LUNA being sent
- Select the amount to be sent — How many tokens you want to send
I need to make a special mention to the “Token selection” screen which links to the token markets on respective DEXes on the target chain. This makes it easy to find the correct contract/token address for the Portal bridge minted tokens.
5. Next, connect the wallet for target chain (BSC in this example)
Once you’ve configure this step, you’ll be able to view the exact token you’ll receive and its address on the native chain explorer (e.g. Polygonscan in the example below).
6. Chose the token for paying the fees (UST in this example) and hit transfer
7. Now, you’ll need to wait for the right number of confirmations on the target chain (e.g. 32 on Solana) and then redeem your tokens in Step 4 (the example screens below are from Wormhole official documentation and not my flow).
- Terra Shuttle bridge is available at https://bridge.terra.money/
Once you arrive at these URLs, here’s the default screen you will see. The initial impression is that the Portal bridge looks a lot more complicated! It has a 4 step process compared to the Shuttle Bridge which seems to have only one step.
Steps to send the tokens
- Choose the source chain
- Choose the target chain
- Choose the source asset
- Choose the amount
- Put in the destination address
- Chose what token to pay the gas fees in
- Hit next and confirm transaction
Comparison of User-Experience
Both the bridges have similar user-experience. Wormhole/Portal bridge has broken down the flow into 4 discrete steps while the Terra Shuttle bridge has it all integrated into one screen.
The difference is that Wormhole/Portal bridge requires you to redeem the tokens and pay the gas fee on the target chain while Terra Shuttle bridge mints the tokens and sends to your target wallet address.
Suggested Improvements
Overall, the Wormhole/Portal experience is pretty well laid out and understandable but there are some improvements I’d like to make.
- Once you’re on Step 3, its not clear whether you can edit previous steps. An “Edit” button with an edit icon will help with that.
2. Some items take up too much space for no reason. E.g. the textbox where the amount is entered takes up the entire width. I don’t believe anyone is entering amounts this large. A better UX would be to have token on the left side and the amount on the right like the LOOP UI below.
3. It would also be great to have buttons for MAX, 25%, 50%, 75% on the amount field. The LOOP UI is a great example of this.
4. The whole redeem flow seems weird. If possible, I would find a way to just send the tokens directly to the user’s wallet instead of asking them to pay the gas fees and do a redeem action. On all chains supported by Wormhole/Portal other than Ethereum, the gas fees are negligible. Even on Ethereum, Wormhole should find a way to cover gas costs as a possible Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).
If Jump Crypto can backfill $300 Million of ETH in less than a day, surely covering the gas fees on Ethereum are a drop in the bucket in return for being the dominant bridged tokens on recipient chains.
Overall, the Terra Shuttle UI looks like it’s been put together by a designer while the Wormhole UI looks like it was put together by a developer i.e. it’s logical and perfectly serviceable but it lacks flair and pizzazz.
