- A relayer carries a message or a proof between chains. Relayers cannot mint, steal, or rewrite a transfer. If one disappears, another can do the same job — or you can.
- MPC Network node operators jointly hold the bridge key. They are already running. They are not started when you ask for an address. They only sign when assets leave NEAR.
Coming in vs going out
Onto NEAR, the bridge checks a proof from the source chain. For Bitcoin and Ethereum that is a light client: software on NEAR that can verify that chain’s history without running a full node. For Solana and several EVM L2s it is Wormhole, a message-passing network those chains already use. Anyone can submit the proof. A relayer usually does this for you. Off NEAR, MPC Network node operators have to sign a payment on the destination chain. No single operator holds the full key. Fragments combine into one ordinary signature (threshold MPC). Relayers only carry the signed message. They cannot produce it. Asking for a deposit address does not start the operators and does not request a signature. Address derivation is calculated from a public key. The operator box is not on the deposit path. It only appears when assets leave NEAR.Bitcoin is different
Bitcoin deposits are not swept into a shared vault. Each deposit gets its own address, and the coins sit there until a withdrawal spends them. That is the part most people want to understand if they sent BTC.How the Bitcoin side works
Where your deposit address comes from, why there is no vault, and who can sign a withdrawal