What a non custodial swap is and why it matters to you
A swap where nobody holds your coins along the way. How it works, what you give up and what you keep.
Most people discover crypto through a big exchange. You sign up, verify your identity, deposit coins, trade inside the exchange and withdraw later. The whole time, the exchange holds your coins. That is custody, and it comes with a long list of things you have to trust: its security, its solvency and whatever it decides to do with your data.
A non custodial swap works differently. There is no balance to keep and no wallet to top up. You send one coin and receive another, in a single move, straight into a wallet only you control.
How the process works
- You choose what you send, what you want to receive and how much.
- You paste your own receiving address for the new coin.
- You get a single use deposit address.
- You send the coins. Once the deposit confirms, the exchange happens and the result is sent to your address.
The deposit address exists only for that swap. When it is done, nothing is left behind: no balance and no account that someone could freeze or leak later.
What you keep
You keep your keys. Your coins are in your wallet before the swap and in your wallet after. You also keep your identity out of a customer database, because there is no database to sign up to. That is the main reason privacy minded people prefer this model.
What you give up
Time to be honest. For the minutes the swap takes, your deposit is under the control of the swap service. Deposits are also reviewed for stolen or sanctioned funds, and a flagged one can be held until questions are cleared up. Non custodial does not mean nobody ever touches your coins. It means nobody keeps them.
You also give up the order book. An instant swap gives you a rate that already includes the margin. Swapea shows the amount after all fees, next to the open market price, so the spread is never hidden. More details in how it works.
Who it is for
It is for anyone who wants to move from one coin to another without opening an account, for people who keep their savings in their own wallet, and for anyone who simply does not want to hand over a passport to swap Bitcoin for Monero. You can try it right now on the swap page.
Questions
Does non custodial mean nobody can ever hold my deposit?
No. The deposit is under control for the few minutes of the swap, and a deposit that fails review can be held. What never happens is a balance being kept for you afterwards.
Do I need an account for a non custodial swap?
Not on Swapea. You pick the coins, paste your receiving address, send your deposit and the new coins go straight to your wallet.
