Set slippage tolerance to limit how much less you will accept than the quote. Before signing, compare that limit with the price impact and the network fee.
Slippage and price impact describe different costs
Price impact is the effect your trade size has on the pool’s price; slippage is the difference between the quoted output and what the transaction would actually receive when it executes. A quote already reflects the pool’s current price impact and trading fee. Slippage tolerance sets a boundary for how much the output can worsen while your transaction waits.
For example, say a swap quotes 500 USDC for 0.25 ETH. With a 0.5% tolerance, the transaction’s minimum output is 0.24875 ETH. If the pool can deliver less by the time the swap executes, it reverts instead of accepting the lower amount. You may still pay network gas for a failed transaction.
Choose a tolerance that fits the trade
Use the smallest tolerance that gives a reasonable chance of execution. A liquid, steady pair may need only a few tenths of a percent; a volatile token or thin pool may need more. These are starting points, not guarantees: the quote, price movement and route determine whether a particular setting will work.
On Biswap, as on other DEX swap screens, check the quoted output and price impact before adjusting tolerance. If price impact is already high, raising tolerance does not improve the rate; it only allows execution at a worse one. Consider reducing the trade size or choosing a deeper pool if the displayed impact is too costly.
Review the wallet steps before signing
A wallet swap can take two transactions if you have not approved the input token before. The approval lets a specified contract spend that token up to an allowance; the swap is a separate transaction. Each transaction can require network gas, so check that your wallet holds the chain’s gas token as well as the assets you intend to trade.
Biswap decentralized exchange shows the swap details that let you compare the route, minimum received and network fee with your plan before signing. Confirm the wallet is on the same network as the swap, the input token is the one you intended, and the spender and allowance are acceptable. A token approval is not the swap itself; wait for it to confirm, then review and sign the swap transaction.
Retry only after finding the cause of a failure
If a swap fails with a slippage error, refresh the quote first: the pool price may have moved or available liquidity may have changed. Check the token balance, approval, network and price impact too. Repeatedly increasing tolerance can make the swap execute at a much worse rate, so do it only when the quote remains acceptable and the token or market conditions explain why more room is needed.
For a routine trade in a deep, stable pool, a low tolerance and a fresh quote are usually sensible. If the token is volatile, the pool is shallow, or the trade is large relative to its liquidity, decide differently: reduce the size, accept a wider execution range only if its minimum output still works for you, or wait for conditions to improve.
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