How long does a crypto swap take?
A swap takes as long as its steps added together: your deposit confirming on the sending network, the exchange partner swapping the coins, and the payout reaching your address on the receiving network. The sending network, how busy it is and the fee you pay often decide most of the wait. There is no set time, but the order page shows which step your swap is in.
See which step your swap is in
- Open the order page, or find the order on the Track Order page and click Details.
- Read the status. On the order page, Awaiting Deposit means no deposit has been seen yet, Confirming Deposit means the network is confirming it, Exchanging Assets means the exchange partner is swapping and sending, and Transaction Complete means the payout was sent. The Track Order page shows the same status as one word, such as WAITING or CONFIRMING.
- If the status is waiting or confirming, look up your deposit hash (from your wallet history) on the explorer of the network you sent on. The explorer shows whether it is still pending and how many confirmations it has.
- If the status is finished, look up your receiving address on the explorer of the payout network. The payout appears in its history.
Each status is covered in swap status explained, and reading an explorer in finding a transaction on a block explorer.
The steps that add up to the total time
| Step | Status you see | What sets the time |
|---|---|---|
| Your deposit reaches the network | Waiting | How soon your wallet or exchange broadcasts the transaction |
| Deposit confirmations | Confirming | The block time of the sending network, how busy it is, the fee you paid, and the number of confirmations the exchange partner sets for that coin |
| The swap | Exchanging | Processing on the exchange partner's side. Large swaps and maintenance on a coin can add time |
| The payout | Sending, then Finished | The exchange partner sending on the receiving network, then that network confirming the payout |
Most of what you control happens before you send: the network, the fee and the memo. Once your deposit has confirmed, the rest runs without you.
Why the sending network sets most of the pace
Every network confirms transactions at its own speed. Bitcoin adds a new block about every 10 minutes on average, but finding a block is a matter of chance, so a single confirmation can come much sooner or much later. Ethereum runs on short, fixed slots and adds blocks far more often.
The fee you pay matters too. The bitcoin.org FAQ says a transaction paying less than the network is currently prioritizing can take considerably longer to get its first confirmation, and fee levels change with demand. On Ethereum, a transaction has to offer at least the current base fee to be eligible for a block, and a tip helps it get ahead when the network is busy, as the ethereum.org gas documentation explains.
The exchange partner then waits for the number of confirmations it sets for that coin. That is why a BTC to ETH swap often spends most of its time on the Bitcoin side, and why a BTC to SOL swap starts the same way: both begin with a Bitcoin deposit.
What slows a swap down on your side
- A low fee. Pick your wallet's normal or faster fee when you send the deposit, above all when the network is busy.
- Sending from an exchange account. A withdrawal is only on its way once the exchange broadcasts it. Until then the order stays on waiting, and there is no transaction hash to look up yet.
- Contract, bridge or batching wallet deposits. These arrive as an internal transaction and can take longer to be credited.
- A missing memo. When the order page shows a memo, the deposit needs it. Without it the deposit cannot be matched to your order and the swap will not start. See memo and destination tag explained.
- The wrong network. Coins sent on a different network than the order shows are not picked up by the order.
- Too little arriving. If a fee is taken out of the amount on the way and less than the minimum for the pair arrives, the swap cannot be finished and getting those coins back is not assured.
Can you speed up a slow swap?
Only before your deposit confirms, and only on your side of the swap.
- Bitcoin. Some wallets can raise the fee of a transaction that has not confirmed yet. With bumpfee in Bitcoin Core, for example, the original transaction is replaced by a new one with a higher fee and a new hash (txid). If you do this, use the new hash when you look it up or write to support.
- Ethereum. A transaction goes into a block only when its maximum fee covers the current base fee, so one with a low maximum fee can sit pending while the network is busy. Check your wallet's help pages for how it handles a pending transaction.
- After the deposit confirms. The exchange and the payout run on the exchange partner's side. A second transfer does not make the first one faster.
Time forecasts and service notes
The swap form and the order page do not show a time estimate. A quote from the public API or the MCP server, both described on the developers page, can include etaMinutes: the exchange partner's own time forecast for that pair. It is a forecast, not a promise.
The service notes page lists past maintenance, network upgrades, late deposits and delayed payouts that the exchange partner's public status page reported, and a coin page shows the notes for its coin when there are any. They are past events, not live status, but they show which coins and networks had delays recently.
A few swaps take longer for reasons outside the network. In rare cases the exchange partner's AML check pauses a swap with the status verifying and asks for verification.
When to ask support
Ask when something looks wrong rather than slow:
- your deposit is confirmed on the explorer, but the order still says waiting, or it has stayed on confirming, exchanging or sending for a long time
- the order says finished, but the explorer shows no payout to your address
- the status is verifying, failed or refunded, or the order expired after you sent coins
Message @xswap_to on Telegram with the transaction ID (the Ref. ID on the order page), the coins and networks, and your deposit hash. xswap.to never asks for a seed phrase or private key.
Questions people ask
How long does a BTC to ETH swap take?
It depends mostly on your Bitcoin deposit. Bitcoin adds a block about every 10 minutes on average, the exchange partner waits for the confirmations it sets for BTC, and a low fee can add a long wait before the first one. The ETH payout comes after that. Follow each step on the order page.
Why is my swap taking so long?
Check the status first. Waiting usually means the deposit is still unconfirmed or did not arrive the way the order expects, for example on another network or without a memo. Confirming means the network is still confirming it, which takes longer with a low fee or a busy network. Exchanging and sending are on the exchange partner's side.
Can I make my crypto swap faster?
Only before you send and while the deposit is unconfirmed. Pay your wallet's normal or faster fee, send from a wallet you control, add the memo when the order shows one, and use the network the order names. Once the deposit has confirmed, nothing you do changes the speed of the exchange or the payout.
Is there an estimated time for my swap?
Not on the swap form or the order page. Quotes from the xswap.to API and MCP server can include etaMinutes, the exchange partner's own time forecast for the pair. Treat it as a forecast: a busy network, maintenance on a coin or a rare AML check can make a swap take longer.
Why does my wallet still show the payout as pending?
The payout has been sent, but the receiving network has not confirmed it yet or your wallet has not refreshed. Look up your receiving address on the explorer of the payout network. Once the payout is confirmed there, the coins are at your address even if the wallet app shows them later.