Atomic Swap
technology · trading
A trustless exchange of assets across chains using time-locked contracts.
An atomic swap enables two parties to exchange assets across different blockchains without a centralized intermediary. Using Hash Time-Locked Contracts (HTLCs), both sides either complete or both refund—there's no partial completion, hence "atomic."
Atomic swaps require compatible scripting primitives and synchronized timeouts. Liquidity and UX challenges limit mainstream use compared to DEXs on a single chain.
Related terms
Decentralized Exchange
→A decentralized exchange (DEX) lets users trade digital assets from their wallets through smart contracts or peer-to-peer settlement.
trading · exchange · blockchain
Simplified Payment Verification (SPV)
→A lightweight verification method that checks block headers and Merkle proofs without downloading full blocks.
security · scaling
Opcode
→An encoded instruction interpreted by a virtual machine or transaction script engine.
technical · scripting