AxelarJS SDK

Overview

The AxelarJS SDK can be used to make cross-chain token transfers using the Axelar network. You will use this method to send tokens across networks if you want to allow token transfers from wallets that don't know anything about Axelar. Example: Withdrawal from a centralized exchange.

Get a deposit address

A deposit address is a special address created and monitored by Axelar relayer services. It is similar to how centralized exchanges generate a monitored one-time deposit address that facilitate your token transfers.

Deposit address workflow:

1. Generate a deposit address.
2. User sends tokens to the deposit address. Examples: withdrawal from a centralized exchange, transaction from your favorite wallet software.
3. Axelar relayers observe the transaction on the source chain and complete it on the destination chain.

Install the AxelarJS SDK

We'll use the AxelarJS SDK, which is a npm dependency that empowers developers to make requests into the Axelar network from a frontend. The Axelar SDK provides a wrapper for API calls that you can use to generate a deposit address.

Install the Axelar SDK:

npm i @axelar-network/axelarjs-sdk

Generate a deposit address using the SDK

Call getDepositAddress:

async getDepositAddress(
  fromChain: string, // source chain
  toChain: string, // destination chain
  destinationAddress: string, // destination address to transfer the token to
  asset: string, // common key of the asset
  options?: {
    _traceId: string;
  }
): Promise<string> {}

Example: Cosmos-to-EVM (Terra to Avalanche):

const sdk = new AxelarAssetTransfer({
  environment: Environment.TESTNET,
  auth: "local",
});
const depositAddress = await sdk.getDepositAddress(
  "terra", // source chain
  "avalanche", // destination chain
  "0xF16DfB26e1FEc993E085092563ECFAEaDa7eD7fD", // destination address
  "uusd" // asset to transfer
);

Example: EVM-to-Cosmos (Avalanche to Terra)

const sdk = new AxelarAssetTransfer({
  environment: "testnet",
  auth: "local",
});
const depositAddress = await sdk.getDepositAddress(
  "avalanche", // source chain
  "terra", // destination chain
  "terra1qem4njhac8azalrav7shvp06myhqldpmkk3p0t", // destination address
  "uusd" // asset to transfer
);

Note: The destination address format is validated based on the destination chain. Make sure that the destination address is a valid address on the destination chain. For instance Terra addresses start with “terra,” Osmosis with “osmo,” etc.

Once the deposit address has been generated the user can make a token transfer (on blockchain) to the deposit address. The transfer will be picked up by the Axelar network and relayed to the destination chain.