Thor Swap Explained: Moving BTC to ETH Across Chains
If you need to turn BTC into ETH, thor swap is a cross-chain service that handles the exchange in one flow. You choose what to send, what to receive, and where the result should go.
What Does a Cross-Chain Swap Give You?
A cross-chain swap exchanges an asset on one blockchain for an asset on another. For example, you can send native BTC from Bitcoin and receive native ETH on Ethereum. “Native” means the actual coin on its own chain, rather than a token representing it elsewhere.
The service finds a route, meaning the path your trade takes through available providers. It shows an estimated output before you send funds. You do not have to arrange a separate bridge transfer and then make another trade.
How Do You Make a BTC-to-ETH Swap?
To make the swap, prepare BTC you can send and an Ethereum address you control. Use thor swap to exchange those assets across the two chains in one flow. This gives you the result people seek from THORSwap: BTC goes in, and ETH arrives on Ethereum.
Check the quote before you approve the BTC transfer. Confirm these four details:
- The source asset and chain: BTC on Bitcoin.
- The destination asset and chain: ETH on Ethereum.
- The destination address: the wallet that should receive ETH.
- The minimum received: the smallest ETH amount you agree to accept.
Leave enough BTC in your wallet to pay the Bitcoin network fee for sending it. If your wallet offers a “max” amount, check that it leaves room for that fee. Keep the transaction record until the ETH arrives.
If the ETH is going to an exchange or app, check its deposit rules first. It may require a minimum deposit or accept ETH only on a particular network. When those details are unclear, receive the ETH in a wallet you control.
What Happens After You Send BTC?
The route waits for Bitcoin confirmations, which are checks that your transfer is settled. On a pool-based route, liquidity pools supply the coins for the trade. These are shared reserves that let people trade without finding a matching buyer.
Your BTC is received on Bitcoin, the trade is priced, and ETH is paid out on Ethereum. Some routes use more than one pool or a provider such as Maya Protocol. You do not have to make those intermediate trades yourself.
Check that the quote says ETH on Ethereum if that is what your next app needs. ETH on another network and wrapped ETH are different assets. Sending the wrong version to an app may leave you unable to use the deposit there.
What Sets the Amount Received and the Wait Time?
The payout and wait depend on the route, chain activity, and size of your swap. Network charges pay for transactions, while liquidity costs rise when an order is large compared with a pool. For thor swap, judge the minimum received and total costs together, not the exchange rate alone.
Say a quote estimates 0.20 ETH for 0.01 BTC, then shows 0.197 ETH after costs. Compare 0.197 ETH with the minimum you would accept. A lower minimum gives the trade more room to complete, but could mean a worse final rate.
THORSwap’s published exchange charge is typically in the 0%–0.5% range before discounts. Network charges and pool pricing vary by route, so use the full quote for your trade. Fixed network costs can take a larger share of a small swap.
Bitcoin confirmations, route processing, and Ethereum congestion affect the wait. A route that splits a large swap into smaller trades may improve the price but take longer. If a route cannot meet your minimum, check its refund terms; network charges may still apply. The key is to verify the destination network and the amount you can receive before sending BTC.