Rift.trade is disrupting the traditional approach to blockchain bridging, offering a unique solution that leverages hardware trust instead of traditional validation methods. By employing Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), Rift enables native Bitcoin-to-Ethereum swaps without wrapped tokens or intermediaries, promising high capital efficiency and rapid settlement times. 20-minute custody windows ensure speed and security, while introducing the potential risk of TEE failure during settlement. Rift targets DEX aggregators and market makers who seek to unlock trapped liquidity in DeFi, relying on an API-first strategy and a powerful investment from Paradigm’s $8 million seed round. However, the protocol’s reliance on hardware trust raises questions about decentralization, as it involves a black box that lacks external inspection capabilities.