Meson review
Atomic-swap bridge for stablecoins and ETH — liquidity providers lock funds on both chains and the swap either completes on both sides or not at all
Key findings
Meson moves stablecoins and ETH between chains with an improved hash time-locked (HTLC) atomic swap: a liquidity provider matches your signed request, and both legs either complete or are cancelled. Fees are a 0.05% service fee (currently waived up to a daily limit) plus LP and gas fees, all deducted on the destination chain. Meson's price API does not give an arrival time. Data is still accumulating: we started sampling Meson directly on 31 October 2026, so this page draws no cost or ranking conclusions yet.
As of 3 Nov 2026, 11:35 UTC (run #540), Meson returned quotes on 29 sampled routes (87 quote rows in this packet). At $200 it was the cheapest ranked quote on 0 routes. Median cost among its non-negative $200 quotes: 5.00 bps (cheapest observed 4.99 bps). Sources reporting it: Meson. Real-money tests: none yet — planned after launch.
- 7-day coverage: rankable quotes on 29 routes in 141 of 336 runs (12,257 rows).
- Gas policy: Gas is shown per quote when the API returns it; ranking uses net received excl. gas.
- Real-money tests: none yet after launch
- Type: Atomic-swap bridge for stablecoins and ETH — liquidity providers lock funds on both chains and the swap either completes on both sides or not at all Risk card →
Source: upswap.io snapshot #540 · CC BY 4.0 · Zenodo DOI: Example / pending
How does Meson work?
You sign a swap request; a liquidity provider that has pre-deposited funds matches it, and the two transfers are linked by a hash lock and time lock, so either both complete or neither does. LPs pay the gas through meta-transactions (Meson — Protocol, Swap process). All fees are deducted from the amount released on the destination chain (Meson — Swap fee).
Scorecard (no total score)
Cost excl. gas
Coverage
$200 wins
Quote rows
Real transfers
Upgrade / custody
How much does Meson cost on each route?
Over the last 7 days Meson's median $200 cost ranged from 5.00 bps (Arbitrum One → BNB Chain USDT) to 115.48 bps (Ethereum → OP Mainnet ETH); it was the cheapest bridge in 11 route-runs.
| Route | n | Min | P25 | Median | P75 | Max | Cheapest runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbitrum One → BNB Chain USDT | 141 | 4.99 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 21.48 | 10 |
| BNB Chain → Arbitrum One USDT | 141 | 4.99 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 6.49 | 1 |
| Ethereum → Arbitrum One USDT | 141 | 4.99 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Ethereum → BNB Chain USDT | 141 | 4.99 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 9.99 | 0 |
| Ethereum → Arbitrum One USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Ethereum → Base USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Arbitrum One → Base USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Polygon PoS → Arbitrum One USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Base → Arbitrum One USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Arbitrum One → Ethereum USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 7.00 | 0 |
| Base → Ethereum USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 6.50 | 0 |
| Ethereum → OP Mainnet USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Ethereum → Polygon PoS USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Arbitrum One → Polygon PoS USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Base → OP Mainnet USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| OP Mainnet → Base USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Polygon PoS → Base USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Base → Polygon PoS USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| Ethereum → Avalanche C-Chain USDC | 141 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0 |
| OP Mainnet → Arbitrum One ETH | 141 | 57.20 | 57.47 | 57.76 | 58.06 | 59.63 | 0 |
| Base → Arbitrum One ETH | 141 | 57.20 | 57.47 | 57.78 | 58.25 | 59.96 | 0 |
| Arbitrum One → Base ETH | 141 | 58.32 | 58.59 | 58.87 | 59.05 | 60.02 | 0 |
| OP Mainnet → Base ETH | 141 | 58.32 | 58.59 | 58.87 | 59.05 | 60.02 | 0 |
| Arbitrum One → OP Mainnet ETH | 141 | 58.32 | 58.59 | 58.87 | 59.05 | 60.02 | 0 |
| Arbitrum One → Ethereum ETH | 141 | 90.85 | 91.45 | 91.84 | 92.41 | 95.94 | 0 |
| Base → Ethereum ETH | 141 | 90.85 | 91.45 | 91.84 | 92.41 | 95.94 | 0 |
| Ethereum → Arbitrum One ETH | 141 | 113.28 | 113.87 | 114.44 | 114.92 | 116.59 | 0 |
| Ethereum → Base ETH | 141 | 114.40 | 114.92 | 115.48 | 115.83 | 117.74 | 0 |
| Ethereum → OP Mainnet ETH | 141 | 114.40 | 114.92 | 115.48 | 115.83 | 117.74 | 0 |
Where does Meson win at $200?
| Route | Via source | bps | Route leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arbitrum One → BNB Chain USDT | Meson | 4.99 | Across 1.20 |
| BNB Chain → Arbitrum One USDT | Meson | 4.99 | Celer 1.36 |
| Ethereum → BNB Chain USDT | Meson | 4.99 | Across 1.20 |
| Ethereum → Arbitrum One USDT | Meson | 4.99 | Celer 1.36 |
| Ethereum → Arbitrum One USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Ethereum → Base USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Arbitrum One → Base USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Polygon PoS → Arbitrum One USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Base → Arbitrum One USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Arbitrum One → Ethereum USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Base → Ethereum USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Ethereum → OP Mainnet USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Ethereum → Polygon PoS USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Arbitrum One → Polygon PoS USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Base → OP Mainnet USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| OP Mainnet → Base USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Polygon PoS → Base USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Base → Polygon PoS USDC | Meson | 5.00 | Eco 0.00 |
| Ethereum → Avalanche C-Chain USDC | Meson | 5.00 | NEAR Intents 1Click 0.40 |
| Base → Arbitrum One ETH | Meson | 57.76 | Layerswap 0.45 |
| OP Mainnet → Arbitrum One ETH | Meson | 57.76 | Layerswap 0.40 |
| Arbitrum One → Base ETH | Meson | 58.89 | Eco 1.23 |
| OP Mainnet → Base ETH | Meson | 58.89 | Celer 1.50 |
| Arbitrum One → OP Mainnet ETH | Meson | 58.89 | Celer 1.92 |
| Arbitrum One → Ethereum ETH | Meson | 91.73 | Eco 1.53 |
| Base → Ethereum ETH | Meson | 91.73 | Eco 1.70 |
| Ethereum → Arbitrum One ETH | Meson | 114.38 | Layerswap 0.16 |
| Ethereum → Base ETH | Meson | 115.52 | Across 1.17 |
| Ethereum → OP Mainnet ETH | Meson | 115.52 | Layerswap 0.35 |
What are the risks of using Meson?
Each item links to its source (L2Beat, DefiLlama or official docs). Items we could not verify are marked 待核实. No overall score.
Atomic settlement
Settlement relies on hash and time locks on both chains rather than on a validator set's signature; the main failure mode is a swap that is not matched or expires, after which the locked funds are released back.
MesonMesonLP liquidity
Each swap is filled by an LP's pre-deposited funds, so the maximum size and availability on a route depend on LP inventory.
Meson
What fees does Meson charge?
- Service fee
- 0.05% of the amount (minimum $0.50), currently waived up to $3,000 or 3 swaps per address per day. Meson
- LP and gas fees
- Set by LPs to cover destination gas and liquidity costs (up to about 1%); swaps under $5 carry a $0.10 surcharge. Meson
Our Meson figures come from its public price API (POST /api/v1/price, no key), which returns fees only; we compute the amount received as amount − total fee and rank it. The API gives no arrival time, shown as 'not provided'. Source-chain gas is not counted.
How did its quotes perform in our data?
Quotes for Meson in run #540, by the API that reported them.
| Source | Type | Routes | Quote rows | $200 cheapest | Median $200 bps | Negative-cost rows |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meson | direct | 29 | 87 | 0 | 5.00 | 0 |
Negative-cost quotes (receiving more than you send) are listed, never ranked. Cost excludes source-chain gas.
Has upswap tested it with real money?
Not yet. Real-money tests are planned after launch; no test wallets or transactions are published yet.
What are the pros and cons?
Pros
- Atomic settlement: both legs complete or neither does.
- Fees are deducted on the destination chain and listed per type.
- Public price API without a key.
Cons
- No arrival time from the API.
- Availability and size limits depend on LP inventory.
- The service-fee waiver is promotional and can change without notice.
Who is Meson for?
Data is accumulating (direct sampling since 31 Oct 2026). Covers same-token USDC, USDT and ETH routes between EVM chains on this site; no Solana.
Has it been hacked?
No incident linked in our incident library.
Which official links are verified?
What is still unverified?
- 待核实 The fee page is inconsistent: its first paragraph says a 0.5% service fee, while its table and 'Service Fee' section say 0.05%. We use 0.05%, which matches our measured quotes.
- 待核实 Who can upgrade the Meson contracts, and any security audits or incidents (not yet checked).
Sources
- The Meson Protocol — Meson · Docs · checked
- Swap process — Meson · Docs · checked
- Liquidity providers — Meson · Docs · checked
- Swap fee — Meson · Docs · checked
- Get price for a swap — Meson · Docs · checked
Changelog
- — Draft review written from Meson docs and API reference.
How do I cite this page?
Burn, A. / upswap.io (2026). Meson review. Updated 2026-10-31. https://upswap.io/bridges/meson#summary. CC BY 4.0. Accessed ____.
Stable anchors: #summary #type #risk #fee-structure #performance #tests #pros-cons #fit #incidents #official #sources #changelog #disclosure #cite