Wormhole has launched cross-chain native token transfer functionality.

On February 29th, BlockBeats reported that cross-chain messaging platform Wormhole introduced the native token transfer (NTT) function to preserve token characteristics and address the issue of fragmented liquidity between different blockchains. Traditional cross-chain token transfers typically require a token bridge and involve "locking and minting" or "burning and minting," which involves locking native assets in a smart contract on one chain and then exchanging them for a synthetic version of the asset on another chain. However, Wormhole's NTT function allows the protocol to natively deploy its standard token on multiple blockchains and facilitate transfers between these standard deployments using an interoperability layer, enabling the direct transfer of native tokens without the need to exchange them for synthetic assets. Compared to wrapped assets, native token transfers ensure that the project retains ownership, upgradeability, and customizability of its tokens on all blockchains, allowing the tokens to maintain their unique characteristics when transferred to any chain and avoid fragmented liquidity by transferring value rather than double counting.