thor swap moves crypto between blockchains in one exchange; a BTC-to-ETH transfer can take minutes to several hours. Once your first attempt is resolved, thor swap lets you swap across chains in one flow after you confirm the receiving network. A THORSwap route must deliver the asset on the chain where you need it.
- Pending can mean the source deposit, the swap, or the destination transfer is still underway.
- Choose the receiving chain before comparing quoted amounts.
- Check the first attempt on-chain before sending funds again.
How Does a Route Move BTC to ETH?
A route receives BTC on its source chain and sends ETH on the destination chain named in the quote. On a THORChain route, liquidity pools—assets set aside for trades—supply both sides of that exchange.
The route exchanges BTC for RUNE inside the system, then RUNE for ETH. You do not need to hold RUNE yourself. THORChain developer documentation describes five stages: source confirmation, network observation, a finality wait, an outbound queue, and destination confirmation.
Observation means the network has seen your deposit. Finality means enough source-chain blocks have passed for the route to act on it. THORSwap can use more than one route, so the details of your actual attempt matter when you check its status.
Which Destination Chain Should You Choose?
Choose the chain on which your wallet or receiving service can use the asset. Check the asset name, receiving network, and address together. An address beginning with 0x can look identical on Ethereum and another network, while the balances remain separate.
Say 0.05 BTC gets an illustrative quote of 1.40 ETH on Ethereum or 1.42 ETH on an L2. An L2 is a separate network built to handle Ethereum-style transfers. If you need ETH on Ethereum, I would choose 1.40 ETH there: moving the L2 balance afterward adds another transfer, fee, and wait.
Also check whether the result is native ETH or a token representing ETH. Native ETH is the asset used to pay Ethereum transaction costs. If you are sending to an exchange, use only the deposit network and asset it says it accepts; a matching address alone does not settle that question.
If no route quotes your exact asset and destination chain, stop before sending. Switching to a different chain to get a quote changes where the funds arrive. Decide how you would move them afterward, then compare the total cost and time.
What If the Swap Is Pending or Failed?
A pending swap may still be confirming its deposit, waiting for the route, or confirming its payout. Start with the source transaction hash, the unique ID your wallet gives the send. Check it on the source chain: an unconfirmed BTC deposit has not yet reached the route.
If the source deposit is confirmed, use that hash to check the route’s transaction status. A queued outbound means the destination transfer has not been sent yet. A destination transaction hash means you can check the receiving chain directly, including the asset and network shown there.
Do not send a second deposit because a page says “failed” while the first deposit is confirmed. First establish whether the route paid out or issued a refund. A refund returns funds on the source chain and can be smaller than the deposit after network costs.
Once a transfer is on-chain, changing the destination in a new quote will not redirect it. If the quoted wait has passed with no payout or refund, keep the source hash, route details, and receiving address for an investigation. Check the chain record before treating a missing wallet balance as a missing transfer.
What Will the Next Attempt Cost and Take?
The next attempt can cost source-chain gas, trading slippage, and an outbound fee. Gas is the payment for recording your send. Slippage is the difference caused when a trade changes the price available in a liquidity pool.
Compare the estimated amount arriving on the same destination chain, rather than the headline exchange rate. THORChain developer documentation says quotes also estimate confirmation and outbound delays. A Bitcoin block takes around ten minutes on average; larger or split trades can take longer.
For a thor swap retry, I would leave enough source asset to pay gas and request a fresh quote. Check its minimum input, receiving chain, expected output, and expiry before sending. Quotes can change, and sending to an old deposit address after a quote expires can cause a failed attempt.
FAQ
Can I change the destination chain after sending BTC?
No. Once the BTC send is on-chain, the route details for that attempt are set. Track it through payout or refund before making another choice. If the funds arrive on a chain you did not intend, first check whether you control the receiving address on that chain; an exchange deposit may require the exchange to resolve it.
Why was my refund smaller than the amount I sent?
A refund is another transfer on the source chain, so its network fee can reduce the returned amount. You also paid to send the original deposit. Compare both transaction hashes and their fees before retrying; then check the new quote’s minimum amount and price limit, the lowest output you agreed to accept.
The route to choose is the one that delivers the asset on the chain where you can use it, after the first attempt is accounted for.
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