Across

Across is rejected because it is below the size floor, and we will not open an individual review until it clears that floor. Across is an intent-based bridge whose relayers front destination assets and receive repayment from a pooled Ethereum HubPool after settlement verification. The DefiLlama protocol API read on 2026-08-15 reported about $17.3M of TVL, only on Ethereum. Size alone decides this bounded rejection. It does not mean that the bridge, relayers, oracle or liquidity pool are otherwise suitable.

Review triggers: events that reopen the verdict
• Reproducible Across HubPool TVL sustains at least the retired TVL threshold for 30 days

Watched nightly: a warning on its venues or files, or a cited document that changes, reopens the memo. The first confirmation is due 2026-11-15.

The research file

Mechanism applicability

Across documents an intent bridge in which relayers fill transfers with their own capital and later receive repayment from the Ethereum HubPool after bundle verification. Passive liquidity providers deposit L1 assets into that single-sided pool, receive LP tokens and earn utilization-priced fees from relayer repayments. This creates a bridge-liquidity position, distinct from lending or paired AMM inventory.

Current observation and size applicability

The DefiLlama protocol API read on 2026-08-15 reported approximately $17.3M of Across TVL, attributed only to Ethereum. That is roughly 17% of the size floor in the shared v1 below-materiality dossier. The protocol is below that floor, so we will not open an individual review until it clears it. The adapter reading does not show pool-by-pool redeemable liquidity, relayer capacity, route concentration or the result of a stressed withdrawal.

Control and exit applicability

Across states that LP fees rise with HubPool utilization and pay for rebalancing risk. Higher utilization also means less liquidity is available at once. Its contracts repository names the Ethereum HubPool as both the liquidity backstop and cross-chain administrator, while the HubPool controls upgrades to SpokePools. Optimistic-oracle challenges and newer proof paths govern settlement, but these controls do not guarantee an LP’s exit under stress.

Why the class rule decides

The shared v1 below-materiality dossier sets the rule while the reproducible Across pool remains near $17.3M. Reopen the individual review after TVL stays at or above the size floor for 30 days. Then review this bridge liquidity, including token and route concentration, relayer and repayment mechanics, verification and disputes, governance and upgrades, contracts and audits, incidents, utilization, fees, and ordinary and stressed LP withdrawals.

Research status

This is a capacity-unproven record for Across, not a quality rejection or approval. Reported TVL says how big the venue is, not what the client owns, who can change the rules, or how a position exits at a proposed size. The individual review opens when the protocol clears the size floor.

Sources

The claims above trace to these. Where a number could not be independently verified, the thesis says so.

• Across Docs — fees and liquidity utilization · primary · accessed 2026-08-15
  Supports: LP fees, relayer fees, HubPool utilization, rebalancing risk, available liquidity
• Across — protocol architecture · primary · accessed 2026-08-15
  Supports: intent bridge, relayer capital, pooled liquidity, settlement verification, LP returns
• Across — official contracts repository · primary · accessed 2026-08-15
  Supports: Ethereum HubPool, liquidity backstop, cross-chain administrator, SpokePool upgrades, audit repository
• DefiLlama — Across survey record · secondary · accessed 2026-08-15
  Supports: current TVL, Ethereum-only TVL perimeter, bridge category, survey observation

Inherited controls

The research above describes the protocol layer. Every position also inherits the asset it holds and the chain it settles on. The layer with the most administrative power sets the position’s effective control; that describes control, not quality or suitability.