Chainflip offers two ways to initiate a native-asset swap: a Deposit Channel or a Vault Swap. Once initiated, a swap can execute as a single trade or in DCA chunks; an optional Boost can shorten the wait for a source-chain deposit. For someone moving BTC into ETH or SOL now, the first choice is how to submit the swap, followed by how much time and price variation to allow.

How Does Chainflip Execute a Native Swap?

The protocol records your destination asset and address, witnesses your deposit on the source chain, trades through its State Chain AMM, and broadcasts the output on the destination chain. You send an asset on its source network and receive the destination asset on its own network, without taking delivery of a wrapped version of the source asset.

Suppose you hold BTC and need ETH in an Ethereum wallet. A Chainflip BTC to ETH swap typically routes through BTC–USDC and USDC–ETH liquidity pools, with both trades executed on the State Chain before ETH is paid out. USDC is the intermediate pricing asset in that route; it is not an extra token you must receive or transfer.

Source-chain confirmation is usually the longest stage. A Bitcoin deposit may take tens of minutes to reach the protocol’s witness threshold, while execution in the AMM generally follows after witnessing. The eventual ETH amount depends on both pools’ available liquidity and prices when the swap executes, so an early quote is an estimate rather than a locked exchange rate.

Which Initiation Method Fits Your Transaction?

Use a Deposit Channel when a simple transfer from your wallet is the practical way to send the source asset; use a Vault Swap when your wallet or application can submit a transaction carrying the swap instructions. Both methods register the destination and execution parameters before the protocol acts on the funds.

• Deposit Channel — best for a straightforward wallet transfer. A broker registers the swap intent and obtains a dedicated deposit address tied to it; sending funds there triggers the swap. It does not fit a workflow that must construct and submit the swap immediately, because opening the channel requires a State Chain transaction first.
• Vault Swap — best for an application constructing the source-chain transaction. The transaction itself carries the encoded swap parameters, so there is no wait for a new deposit address. It does not fit a wallet or integration that can only make a plain transfer: the payload is chain-specific, the transaction is single-use, and its source-chain cost may differ.

These are entry methods, not different liquidity pools. Compare quotes for the same asset pair and amount using the intended method, since deposit and transaction costs can differ. A Deposit Channel remains open for 24 hours; if you are sending later, register a fresh intent rather than relying on an old address.

Which Execution Option Fits Your Timing and Price Constraint?

Regular execution fits a swap you want settled as soon as its deposit is witnessed; DCA fits a larger trade where spreading execution may improve the price. Boost changes when a qualifying deposit can be acted on, so it can accompany a regular or DCA quote rather than replacing either one. Chainflip also supports cross-chain messaging when the destination must call a contract instead of simply receiving assets.

• Regular swap — best for one prompt execution. The AMM executes the amount against available liquidity when the deposit is witnessed. It does not fit a large order if taking liquidity at once produces an unacceptable quote.
• DCA swap — best for dividing price impact over time. The request sets a number of chunks and an interval in State Chain blocks; as an illustration, four chunks spaced ten roughly six-second blocks apart add about three minutes between the first and last scheduled executions. It does not fit a deadline that requires the entire amount at once. The protocol may reduce the requested chunk count if each piece would fall below that asset’s minimum chunk size.
• Boosted swap — best when source-chain confirmation time is the bottleneck. Available Boost liquidity can back a deposit after it appears on the source chain, allowing earlier execution for an additional fee, typically about 0.05%–0.3%. It does not fit when the fee outweighs the time saved; if sufficient Boost liquidity is unavailable, the deposit follows ordinary confirmation timing.

A cross-chain message adds a destination contract call and a gas budget to either initiation method. Use it when your app must act on the received asset in the same destination transaction; a plain payout is simpler when a wallet only needs the asset. The receiving contract must support the protocol’s call interface, and the message and destination gas add cost and a possible failure point.

What Determines the Received Amount, and What Should You Check?

The received amount reflects pool pricing, protocol and broker fees, source-chain transaction cost, and the destination-chain broadcast cost. As a typical protocol-fee illustration, a BTC-to-ETH route crossing two pools at roughly 0.10%–0.15% per pool plus a roughly 0.10% network fee starts around 0.30%–0.40% before spread, chain costs, any broker charge, or Boost. Compare the estimated destination amount for the exact route and initiation method, not just the headline exchange rate.

Set a minimum accepted price and a source-chain refund address with a retry window. If execution cannot meet the price during that window, the unexecuted amount is refunded, less applicable refund and broadcast costs. With DCA, completed chunks can still pay out to the destination while the remaining chunks return to the source-chain refund address; an all-or-nothing outcome should not be assumed.

Before sending, verify the asset’s source and destination networks, the current minimum and maximum swap amounts, the destination address, and the refund address. Amounts outside protocol limits can be lost, and sending funds directly to a Vault without a valid encoded swap call gives the network no instructions for them. For a Polkadot-related route, check the specific DOT network shown in the quote: DOT on Asset Hub is a distinct routing detail from the older Polkadot chain designation.