If you need to trade across blockchains, thor swap compares routes and lets you swap from your wallet. It is a decentralized exchange aggregator: it gathers quotes for different paths between coins. You choose a path based on the amount you expect to receive, its cost, and its wait time.
thor swap Routes Trades Across Blockchains
A cross-chain route takes a coin from its home network and pays out another coin on a different network. It may use a liquidity pool, which is a shared reserve of coins used for trades. The interface finds available routes, but the route you choose carries out the exchange.
Suppose you want to trade 0.01 BTC for ETH. The quote in thor swap shows possible paths and their expected ETH output. THORSwap might show a path through Maya Protocol, where coin pools price the trade before ETH reaches your Ethereum address.
You send the BTC from your wallet and wait for the Bitcoin transaction to confirm. The route then processes the trade and sends ETH on Ethereum. Some routes offer a streaming swap, which divides a trade into smaller pieces. That can improve the rate on a large trade, but it takes longer.
The Quote Shows What the Trade Will Cost
The quote estimates what you will receive after the route's costs. Check the final ETH amount, not only the displayed exchange rate. A rate can look attractive while network fees or a thin coin pool reduce the payout.
The published fee schedule lists a 0.5% exchange fee on swaps over $100, with discounts for some users. On a $200 swap, that fee would be $1 before other costs. Network fees change with demand. Ethereum Foundation documentation explains that an Ethereum transaction's gas fee is paid in ETH.
Before approving the trade, check these four parts of the preview:
-
Destination: Confirm that the address can receive the exact coin on the selected network.
-
Amount out: Compare the estimated payout across routes, after their listed fees.
-
Price impact: See how much your trade moves the pool's price. Larger trades usually move it more.
-
Time: Check whether a better rate requires a longer streaming swap.
I would pick the route with the best usable payout and a wait I can accept. For a first trade, I would start small and keep enough of the source network's coin to pay its sending fee. Check the quote again just before approving it, since rates and fees can change.
Questions to Settle Before Sending
Your wallet, the route's timing, and its refund terms determine what happens after you approve a swap.
Do I Need One Wallet for Both Coins?
No. You need a wallet that can send the source coin and an address that can receive the destination coin. These can be in separate wallets. Check the destination network as carefully as the coin name: ETH on Ethereum must go to an address you control on Ethereum. Never enter a recovery phrase into a swap interface.
How Long Does a Cross-Chain Swap Take?
It depends on both networks and the route. A Bitcoin payment may wait around ten minutes for its first confirmation before the trade moves forward. Processing and the outgoing payment add time; a streaming swap can add more. Use the quote's time estimate, then follow the transaction status if the payout has not arrived.
What If the Swap Does Not Complete?
First, check the transaction status using its transaction ID, the record of your send on the source network. Do not send the same amount again while the first swap is pending. A failed route may return the source coin, with network fees deducted. Refund rules vary by route, so read them in the preview before approving.