Warning

Always start with a small test transaction. Bridge transfers are irreversible, so before moving large amounts, send a small amount first and confirm it arrives as expected.

The dedicated Bridge smart contract, controlled by the Gonka consensus, is active on Ethereum at the address:

0x972a7a92d92796a98801a8818bcf91f1648f2f68

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Addresses and keys

This is the single most important page to understand before bridging. Read it before your first transfer.

One key, two addresses

Ethereum and Gonka both use the same kind of cryptographic key (a secp256k1 key pair). A single private key therefore controls an account on both chains. The two chains only differ in how they turn the public key into a human-readable address:

Chain	Address format	How the address is derived from the public key
Ethereum	0x... (20 bytes, hex)	keccak256(uncompressed_public_key) → last 20 bytes
Gonka	gonka1... (bech32)	ripemd160(sha256(compressed_public_key)) → bech32 with the gonka prefix

So a single private key produces two different-looking addresses — one 0x… and one gonka1… — but both are controlled by that same key.

How the bridge decides where your tokens go

When you bridge tokens from Ethereum to Gonka, you send them to the bridge contract and sign that Ethereum transaction with your Ethereum private key. The Gonka bridge:

1. Detects the finalized deposit transaction on Ethereum.
2. Recovers the public key from your transaction's signature.
3. Computes the Gonka address for that public key (the gonka1… standard derivation above).
4. Mints/releases the bridged tokens to that gonka1… address.

In other words: the wrapped tokens are delivered to the Gonka address generated from the same public key — and controlled by the same private key — that signed the Ethereum deposit. To spend them, you must use the same key on Gonka.

The reverse direction works the other way around: bridging back to Ethereum, you specify the destination address explicitly in the withdrawal transaction, whereas bridging to Gonka you cannot choose the recipient — it is fixed by your key.

The seed-phrase pitfall (read this!)

Most users never see their raw private key — they only have a seed phrase (mnemonic) and let their wallet derive keys for them. This is convenient, but it creates a trap for bridging:

A seed phrase does not map to a single key. Wallets derive keys from it using BIP-44 derivation paths, and each blockchain uses a different path:

• Ethereum wallets use coin type 60 → path m/44'/60'/0'/0/0
• Cosmos/Gonka wallets use coin type 118 → path m/44'/118'/0'/0/0

Because the paths differ, the same seed phrase produces two completely different private keys for Ethereum and Gonka — and therefore two unrelated addresses. If you deposit from a seed-derived Ethereum account and then look at the seed-derived Gonka account in your wallet, they are not the same key, so the bridged tokens will land on a gonka1… address your wallet is not showing you and may not control.

Danger

Do not assume "same seed phrase = same account on both chains." For the bridge you need the same private key on both chains, not the same seed phrase. Using the standard, different derivation paths will send your funds to an address derived from your Ethereum key — which your Gonka wallet, derived on a different path, does not control. This is not a loss, you can still derive your Ethereum private key from the same seed phrase, and that key controls the receiving account on the Gonka chain.

How to get the matching Gonka address

You have two options.

Option A — Use the dashboard (recommended)

The Gonka dashboard solves the derivation for you. Connect the same Ethereum wallet you bridge with, and the dashboard derives and displays the correct gonka1… address that the bridge will use, shows your wrapped balances, and guides the deposit/withdraw flow. This avoids handling raw private keys yourself and removes the seed-phrase confusion described above.

Open the dashboard at:

https://node1.gonka.ai:8443/dashboard/

Option B — Import the same private key into the Gonka keyring

If you work from the CLI, import the exact same secp256k1 private key (hex) that controls your Ethereum account into the Gonka keyring. The resulting gonka1… address is the one the bridge mints to:

inferenced keys import-hex <key_name> <YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY_HEX>

# Show the derived Gonka address
inferenced keys show <key_name> -a

The address printed here is exactly the gonka1… address that will receive your bridged tokens, and the key can sign Gonka transactions (transfers, withdrawals) for them.

Warning

Importing a raw private key exposes it to the machine and keyring you import it on. Prefer a file-based keyring (--keyring-backend file) on a secure machine, and never paste a private key that also guards significant Ethereum funds onto an untrusted host. When in doubt, use the dashboard.

Quick checklist

• Decide which key you will bridge with before you start.
• If you have USDT/ETH on an Ethereum address already: derive the matching gonka1… address from that key (dashboard, or import-hex).
• If you want to use an existing Gonka address: derive the matching 0x… Ethereum address from that key, fund it with the token and enough ETH for gas.
• Always send a small test amount first and confirm it arrives on the expected gonka1… address.