Synapse (SYN), the native token of the cross-chain Synapse Protocol, is trading at a five-month high of $1.22 following a 44.74 move to the upside over the past 24-hours.
The token has outperformed its competitors across decentralized finance (DeFi) since the turn of the year, rallying by 151.56 compared to 58.27 for the sector, according to CoinDesk‘s DeFi index.
Synapse‘s ascent has been in-part due to the popularity of the Synapse bridge, which allows users to transfer assets across several blockchains. Since its inception, the Synapse bridge has facilitated $11.45 billion in transfers, according to data on the protocol‘s website.
Synapse/USD chart on TradingView.
Cross-chain bridges are being used more frequently as astute traders attempt to lock in the highest borrowing yields across different blockchains. Recently launched layer 1 blockchain Canto experienced a wave of volume last week. The Synapse bridge facilitated $47 million of cross-chain transactions to Canto since Jan. 25 and Wednesday alone saw $12.2 million in bridged transactions - a record over a 24-hour period.
Synapse users have also been benefitting from lucrative staking yields with the SYN/ETH pool on Sushiswap, which is accessible on the Synapse user interface and generating 106.69 APY.
Cross-chain bridges wandered in the crosshairs of hackers last year due to the novel underlying technology. Blockchain security firm Chainalysis estimated that $2 billion had been stolen from cross-chain bridges in the first eight months of 2022. This figure includes the $625 million Ronin Bridge exploit, which was targeted by North Korean hacking Group Lazarus.
