To bridge ETH to Arbitrum, choose ETH on Ethereum as the source and ETH on Arbitrum One as the destination in a bridge or aggregator, check the route and confirm. Third-party routes often arrive within minutes; the official Arbitrum bridge takes roughly 10-15 minutes for deposits but about 7 days for withdrawals back to Ethereum, because of the rollup’s challenge period. Arbitrum uses ETH for gas, so the ETH you bridge also pays for your transactions there.
Key Takeaways
- In: minutes through either route.
- Out: about 7 days via the official bridge; minutes via third-party liquidity.
- Gas: paid in ETH on both networks; Arbitrum gas is much cheaper.
- Aggregators compare routes and fees for you.
Official Bridge vs Third-Party Routes
| Official Arbitrum bridge | Third-party bridges / aggregator | |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit time | ~10-15 min | Often 1-5 min |
| Withdrawal time | ~7 days | Minutes |
| Fees | Gas only | Gas + bridge fee |
| Trust | Arbitrum’s contracts | Arbitrum plus the bridge |
Step by Step
- Open the swap widget and connect your wallet on Ethereum.
- From: ETH on Ethereum. To: ETH on Arbitrum.
- Enter the amount and leave ETH for mainnet gas.
- Pick a route by time and amount received.
- Confirm and wait for arrival on Arbitrum; add Arbitrum One to your wallet if needed.
Bridging Back
To return to Ethereum quickly, reverse the route with a third-party bridge. Using the official bridge is cheapest in fees but locks funds for about a week. Arbitrum’s documentation explains withdrawals on docs.arbitrum.io.
Why Move to Arbitrum
Lower gas for swaps and DeFi is the main reason; see ETH gas fees explained. Stablecoins can be moved the same way; see how to bridge USDT.
