Atomic swap or atomic cross-chain swap is a protocol that allows trading crypto assets in a peer-to-peer manner across different blockchain networks.
The protocol uses a smart contract that enforces the conditions of the transaction. It utilizes a two-way virtual safe function (HTLC – Hashed Time Lock Contract) to ensure that both parties fulfill their sides of the transaction at a predetermined time.
It is dubbed to be one of the futures of blockchain technology that provides convenience and flexible trading in a single transaction, eliminating third-party entities.
Riverex allows users to trade over 1,100 coins and tokens across six different blockchains: Ethereum, Binance, Fantom, MoonBeam, Polygon, and Tron, with others to be updated.
It employs a Hashlock and Timelock protocol to guarantee traders of getting their funds back in case of delays, as their funds are locked in a smart contract until either party withdraws or refunds the transaction.
With atomic swap, traders can exchange cryptocurrencies directly on a single transaction, avoiding the fees when converting different assets to trade in multiple networks.
It’s a peer-to-peer exchange of cryptocurrencies between different blockchain networks without the intervention of a middleman.