What is the Universal Bridge and how can I use it?

Enabling a performant and reliable web3 payment solution wasn’t always easy. In the early days of crypto, you’d be forced to grapple with multiple different wallet providers that offered limited functionality and buying crypto often meant trusting unreliable platforms with significant security risks.

Today, web3 payment solutions have come a long way: you have the choice of buying crypto with fiat currencies or other cryptocurrencies via countless providers—either decentralized or centralized.

But with so many options, today, the challenge is building something that is interoperable and hassle-free for users.

This is where thirdweb’s universal bridge feature comes in. Essentially, it’s a web3 payment solution that easily allows developers to enable crypto or fiat payments in their web3 app—while removing all of the complexity.

But in fact, it’s a lot more than a simple web3 payment solution.

What is the Universal Bridge?

The universal bridge, is first an foremost a web3 payment solution, previously handled as part of thirdweb Pay.

However, the Universal Bridge is not just about moving assets between chains or converting fiat to crypto—it powers seamless transactions for everyday blockchain interactions.

Whether users are minting NFTs, swapping tokens, or creating new blockchain accounts, they no longer need to worry about which chain their assets are on. The system automatically routes transactions efficiently, making decentralized apps (dApps) more user-friendly.

This expands its capabilities beyond just payments, allowing developers to integrate webhooks, track transactions, and build smoother crypto payment experiences without extra complexity.

Why is the universal bridge important?

Ethereum and its various networks (like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base) each have their own versions of the same assets, making it difficult for users and developers to move assets across chains efficiently. This fragmentation leads to higher costs, slower transactions, and a poor user experience.

thirdweb’s Universal Bridge solves this problem by enabling seamless asset movement across chains without requiring users or developers to manually choose the best route. It ensures that transactions are fast, cheap, and reliable, helping create a more unified blockchain ecosystem.

Universal Bridge Key Features

Onramp - Let users buy crypto in-app

As a powerful web3 payment solution, one of Universal Bridge’s key features is allowing users to buy crypto with fiat currencies (like Dollars or Euros), also known as on-ramping. Any app that implements Universal Bridge allows users to buy crypto with fiat currencies directly in-app.

There are multiple payment methods to choose from since Universal Bridge supports Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, ACH in over 130+ countries. And to make the whole process seamless, Universal Bridge also automatically selects a provider based on user location, KYC status, and currency.

Swap & Bridge - Enable multi chain & multi asset payments

As a web3 payment solution, Universal Bridge also facilitates crypto to crypto payments. Any app that implements Universal Bridge unlocks seamless bridging and swapping for their users—including hundreds of tokens across 20+ EVM chains. Put simply, Universal Bridge makes multi-chain and multi asset transaction processes seamless.

Earn Rev Share - Monetize through fees

Universal Bridge also empowers web3 developers to monetize their apps; supporting all payment methods to maximize coverage, and offering flexible payment & fee-sharing mechanisms.

Simply implement Pay in your app, and start earning as soon as it has activity. Universal Bridge charges the end-user a 1% fee for crypto-to-crypto transactions and 70% of these fees go directly to the developer; allowing you to monetize your app and grow your revenue stream.

Enable Next-Generation Payment Mechanisms

Finally, Universal Bridge is also highly flexible, offering developers the option to customize how and when users can buy crypto. For example, Universal Bridge allows you to enable “Top Ups” so that users can recharge their wallets easily. You can also set up transaction flows to accept direct payments at the time of an onchain transaction via webhooks. Once you enable Universal Bridge, there’s a whole new toolkit to play with.

Seamless Routing

With thirdweb’s Universal bridge, users don’t need to worry about which chain they are using: they can access and transfer tokens between chains without even realising it —the universal bridge automatically chooses the best route without burdening the users or developers.

Universal Bridge’s Features: Understanding Payment Mechanisms

So now you know the basics about Universal Bridge, let’s dive into some of its more niche capabilities.

Test Mode

Test Mode is a powerful feature for the Universal bridge, designed to let developers simulate transactions in a secure, controlled environment. In this mode, only testnets and their native test currencies are available: no real financial exchanges occur. This allows for safe testing of transaction flows and integrations.

Instead of risking real funds, developers can confidently validate their implementation before launching in a live environment.

Find our list of supported testnets on the thirdweb Chainlist page.

Universal Bridge webhooks

The Universal Bridge Webhooks feature can provide you with real-time notifications about essential payment events. For example, it’s perfect for setting up notifications for completed transactions.

Webhooks empower developers to:

• Receive notifications on payment status changes without the need for constant polling.

• Instantly trigger workflows—like order fulfillment, user notifications, or data updates—as soon as payments are processed.

• Implement built-in verification options to protect applications from fraud.

With Universal Bridge Webhooks, developers can build robust, automated systems that enhance efficiency, reduce manual effort, and provide a seamless user experience.

Customize embeds and payment flows

The PayEmbed component makes it easy for developers to integrate a customizable, pre-built user interface for funding wallets, purchasing assets, or executing transactions—whether with crypto or fiat—directly within their applications. Designed to deliver a seamless and secure payment flow, PayEmbed ensures an intuitive and efficient user experience.

• Specify which tokens your app supports by overriding default token lists

• Pre-select tokens & networks for your users to streamline purchases.

• Set preferred onramp providers (e.g., Stripe, Kado, Transak)

• Control available payment methods by disabling crypto or fiat options as needed.

• Create branding that fits your app, with Universal Bridges theme customization options.

the Universal Bridge offers a web3 payment solution that is not only intuitive and secure but also perfectly aligned with their brand and user needs.

Enable fiat Payments

Enabling fiat payments through Universal Bridge gives your app the ability to accept traditional payment methods, such as credit or debit cards. This integration simplifies the onboarding process for users unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies, meaning you can reach more people.

How to implement Universal Bridge

There are a few ways to implement Universal Bridge depending on what your app needs. These approaches provide flexible options for integrating Universal Bridge, from simple wallet connections to complete SDK integrations for various platforms.

Via the Connect Wallet Button

Implementing the Connect Wallet Button in your app automatically activates the Universal Bridge.

To set up the Universal Bridge using the Connect Wallet button, follow these steps.

1. install the thirdweb SDK and obtain your Client ID from the thirdweb dashboard.

2. Use your Client ID to initialize the SDK in your app.

3. Add the ConnectButton component to your app to lets users connect their wallets and access payment features.

4. Customize the button's appearance and behavior as needed.

5. Start enjoying your Connect Wallet button!

Via Pay Embed

The Pay Embed component integrates a crypto onramp and purchase experience into your app. Get started via the Pay embed with these steps:

1. Install the thirdweb SDK

2. Obtain your Client ID from the thirdweb dashboard and initialize the SDK in your project including the PayEmbed component. This allows users to buy crypto or perform payments seamlessly.

3. Customization options are available to align the embed with your app’s design.

Via the Connect SDK and useSendTransaction

To start using the universal bridge, you can also simply leverage the useSendTransaction react hook! Let’s see how it’s done:

1. install the thirdweb SDK

2. Obtain your Client ID from the thirdweb dashboard and initialize the SDK in your project.

3. Use the useSendTransaction react hook to enable users to send crypto payments. The SDK automatically checks for sufficient balance and prompts users to onramp funds if needed. This functionality can be customized to enhance the user experience.

Via Unity SDK

To integrate Universal Bridge in Unity,

1. Download and import the Unity SDK

2. Obtain your Client ID from the thirdweb dashboard and initialize the SDK in your project.

3. Use the SDK’s payment features to allow users to make payments directly within your Unity app. Further configuration and customization options are available for tailoring the payment flow.

Get more from Universal Bridge with Engine

The Universal Bridge is a powerful web3 payment solution tool, but combined with thirdweb Engine, you can unlock even deeper functionality.

Accept direct payments

thirdweb Engine can also combine with Pay to unlock direct payments in both fiat and cryptocurrencies facilitating seamless transactions for purchasing assets like NFTs. Universal Bridge’s payment processes and webhooks working with engine’s backend wallets facilitates the automation of digital asset delivery post-purchase.

Universal Bridge: the all-in-one web3 payment solution

With the Universal Bridge, thirdweb is making Ethereum assets truly universal, simplifying both user experiences and developer integration across the blockchain ecosystem.

From on-ramping fiat to crypto, enabling multi-chain and multi-asset transactions, offering revenue-sharing opportunities, and facilitating next-generation payment flows, Universal Bridge ensures both developers and users benefit from a streamlined experience.

By combining robust features such as customizable embeds, test modes, webhooks, and fiat payment support, the Universal Bridge delivers unmatched flexibility and scalability for web3 applications. And when paired with thirdweb Engine, its capabilities are only amplified!

So, whether you're a developer looking to simplify payments in your app or a user seeking a smooth entry into the world of crypto, look no further! Implement Universal Bridge: the all-in-one web3 payment solution.