A quick, honest look at how the recommended route compares.
| Feature | SimpleSwap | Typical exchange | P2P |
|---|---|---|---|
| No account / sign-up | ✓ | — | — |
| Instant, non-custodial | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Hundreds of assets | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Fixed or floating rate | ✓ | — | — |
| 24/7 support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Straight answers to what people actually ask about atomic swap — one topic per card.
An atomic swap is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange method allowing direct trades between different blockchains without a third-party intermediary, using cryptographic protocols to ensure security.
They are highly secure due to Hashed Timelock Contracts (HTLCs), which ensure either both parties complete the swap or neither loses funds, preventing partial or fraudulent transactions.
Atomic swaps are typically supported between cryptocurrencies built on similar blockchain architectures that can implement HTLCs, such as Bitcoin and Litecoin, or various ERC-20 tokens.
No, while efficient, they are not instant. The speed of an atomic swap depends on the block confirmation times of the two involved blockchains, which can range from minutes to over an hour.
Yes, to perform a native atomic swap, you generally need a wallet that specifically supports the HTLC functionality for the cryptocurrencies you wish to exchange.
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