Crypto swap guides
20 guides in 5 shelves: how instant swaps work, what sets the rate and the fees, networks and tokens, wallet safety and privacy coins. Each one answers the question in its title first, with sources linked.
New to swaps? Start here
Three short reads, in this order.
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How swaps work
How an instant swap moves your coins, and how it differs from exchanges and DEXs.
- Non-custodial swapsA non-custodial swap moves crypto from your wallet to your wallet in one order, with no balance held in between. Keys, seed phrases and custody explained.
- CEX vs DEX vs instant swapsCentralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges, aggregators and instant swap services compared: custody, order books vs AMMs, pricing and how an order is filled.
- DEX aggregators and AMMsHow DEX aggregators find a better price: liquidity pools and AMMs (x*y=k), price impact, order splitting, RFQ market makers, intents and solvers, and cross-chain routing.
- How swap services make moneyWhere crypto exchange and swap service revenue comes from: maker and taker fees, spreads, conversion and withdrawal fees, DEX swap fees, and affiliate fees on swap APIs.
Rates and fees
What sets the amount you receive: rate type, slippage, fees and gas.
- Fixed vs floating rateFixed or floating rate on an instant crypto swap: what each one does, why a fixed rate can cost more, when to lock the price, with a simulator.
- SlippageSlippage is the gap between the amount you were quoted and the amount you receive. Calculate it, see why it happens, how it differs from price impact and how to limit it.
- Swap fees and quotesInstant swap fees are built into the quote: service fee, spread, routing and network costs. Gas, spreads, DEX fee tiers explained, plus a quote comparison calculator.
- Gas feesWhat gas is, how Ethereum gas fees are calculated, base fee vs priority fee, why fees spike, why failed transactions still cost gas, and fees on Tron and Solana.
- MEV and sandwich attacksMEV explained: how searchers reorder transactions, how sandwich attacks and front-running work, which MEV is harmless, and how private transaction relays protect a swap.
Networks and tokens
Chains, token standards, bridges and confirmation times.
- Cross-chain swaps and bridgesA cross-chain swap sends one coin on one network and delivers another on a different network. How bridges, wrapped tokens and lock-and-mint work, and their risks.
- USDT to USDCSwapping USDT to USDC takes one order on an instant swap service. TRC20, ERC20 and BEP20 explained, official networks for each coin, and a network check before you send.
- ERC20 vs TRC20 vs BEP20ERC-20 vs TRC-20 vs BEP-20 explained: which network each label means, address formats, how fees are paid in ETH, TRX and BNB, and why you can't send across networks.
- Wrapped bitcoin (WBTC)Wrapped bitcoin explained: how WBTC is minted and burned, who holds the BTC behind it, how cbBTC differs, the risks of wrapped tokens, and how to get native BTC back.
- Confirmations and the mempoolHow long Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, Solana and Monero transfers take, what a confirmation is, why a transaction gets stuck in the mempool, and how RBF and CPFP speed it up.
Wallets and safety
Keys, verification, address checks and deposit mistakes.
- Seed phrasesWhat a seed phrase is, why it has 12 to 24 words, how it differs from a private key and a password, what the 25th word is, and how to store it safely.
- What "no KYC" means"No KYC" on swap services usually means no account for a standard swap, not that checks never apply. What KYC and AML are, and when SimpleSwap and ChangeNOW may ask for verification.
- Address screeningAddress screening returns a risk level for a wallet before funds move. Clustering, attribution, direct vs indirect exposure, false positives, and SimpleSwap and ChangeNOW tools.
- Wrong network or missing memoWhat happens when crypto is sent on the wrong network or without a memo or destination tag, what can be recovered, who can help, and how to avoid it next time.
Privacy coins
How Monero works and how to swap it.
- Swapping Monero (XMR)How to swap to or from Monero (XMR): how Monero addresses work, subaddresses vs integrated addresses, block time, and which instant swap services list XMR.
- Is Monero traceable?What Monero hides by default (sender, receiver, amount), what stays visible on-chain, ring size 16, view keys, payment proofs and Dandelion++, from Monero's own documentation.
12 guides include an interactive tool: calculators, a rate simulator, address and network checkers.