A subaddress gives each payment a separate destination

A subaddress is an extra receiving address made from the same Monero wallet. A wallet can create many of them, so a recipient can assign a different one to each expected payment.

For example, a swap service can assign subaddress 17 to one swap and subaddress 18 to another. Both belong to the service’s wallet, but its records connect each address to a different swap. That connection lets it attribute an incoming payment to the right request.

This differs from a centralised exchange, where an account balance and deposit reference often do the matching. With Monero, the dedicated subaddress itself can do that job; the sender does not need to add a separate note to the transaction.

The recipient’s wallet recognises the payment privately

Monero does not show the recipient’s subaddress as plain text in the public transaction. Instead, the sender’s wallet creates a one-time destination, a fresh address-like output for that payment. The recipient wallet scans those outputs using its private view key, a key that lets it recognise incoming funds but cannot spend them.

When it recognises an output, the wallet can tell which of its subaddresses it belongs to and read the amount. The bridge service can then match that subaddress to its own swap record. For example, if 0.42 XMR arrives at the subaddress assigned to swap 17, the service can attribute the deposit to swap 17; that figure is only an example.

That’s why sending to the exact subaddress matters. If you send to another address from your own wallet, the bridge cannot identify the payment by its assigned destination. If a deposit appears stuck after sending, what an XMR bridge does for stalled swaps explains the types of delay and what happens next.

Check the address before sending

Copy the full Monero subaddress assigned to the swap, then verify that your wallet is sending XMR on the Monero network. A subaddress is not interchangeable with a Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Polygon address, even when the service will later send you an asset on one of those networks.

A Monero transaction may take time to appear as confirmed, and the recipient wallet must scan the blockchain to find it. The service is the recipient, so it can see the incoming payment details needed to credit the swap. Public observers do not get the same view from the subaddress alone.

Common questions

Does a subaddress reveal my other Monero payments?

No. A subaddress does not publicly identify your main address or other subaddresses. The bridge service can associate the payment with the swap because it created or recorded that destination. Other blockchain observers cannot read the subaddress or amount directly from the transaction. Reusing the same subaddress can still let the recipient recognise repeat payments to it.

What if I sent XMR to the wrong subaddress?

The intended recipient may not automatically associate that payment with your swap, even if the address belongs to the same wallet. Keep the transaction ID, the transaction’s unique reference, and contact the service through its normal support route with the relevant details. For future swaps, use the exact assigned subaddress; destination matching is the deciding rule.

• Compare the same input amount and token pair across pools.
• Judge the final output after pool fees and price impact, not the opening price.
• Check the route again before trading because pool balances can change.

Compare the amount you would actually receive

Compare pools using the same input, such as 10 BNB for one token, and look at each estimated output. A pool is a shared reserve of two tokens; a swap takes one token from the pool and adds the other.

For BNB Smart Chain charts, PooCoin is a concrete example of a tool for exploring token prices and activity. poocoin.money is a charting and trading tool for exploring BNB Smart Chain tokens and swap opportunities.

Suppose Pool A holds 100 BNB and 10,000 tokens. Pool B holds 20 BNB and 2,300 tokens. Before fees, a 10 BNB trade would return about 909 tokens from A or 767 from B. These are illustrative figures using the common constant-product pool model, where a pool’s reserve balance changes as each trade happens.

Pool depth matters more than the opening quote

A larger pool often gives a better result for a sizeable trade, even when its starting quote looks worse. The trade itself changes the pool ratio, so a small pool can move sharply as it sells tokens to you.

That change in the quoted price is called price impact. In the example, Pool B starts with more tokens per BNB, but its smaller BNB reserve means a 10 BNB purchase uses a much larger share of its depth. For a tiny trade, the opening prices may be a useful clue; for a larger one, compare the full output estimate.

Fees and route shape can change the winner

A route can use one pool or pass through an extra token and pool. That second path may reach deeper liquidity, but each pool can add a fee, and each hop can change the final amount.

Check whether the estimate includes pool fees and whether the route has extra hops. Fees vary by pool type and platform, so there is no single rate to assume. Also account for the network transaction cost, paid separately in BNB on BNB Smart Chain.

PooCoin charts can help you inspect token activity around the pools you are comparing. A chart price is not the same as an executable quote: it may show a recent trade or a pool’s current ratio, while your trade changes that ratio.

Recheck the estimate before sending

For an occasional swap, compare two or three routes at the exact amount you intend to trade. Note the estimated output, fees, number of hops, and the time of the quote. Then check the estimate again just before confirming, since another trade can change the reserves.

Use BscScan, a BNB Smart Chain transaction explorer, to inspect a completed transaction if you need to see which contracts it interacted with. The token’s name alone is not enough to identify the right asset, so confirm its contract address from a source you trust. PooCoin can help you examine the chart context, while the route’s estimated output tells you how the specific trade may execute.

To do a base swap, fund a wallet on Base, connect it to BaseSwap, choose a token pair, check the quote, and confirm the trade. To put tokens into a pool instead, use the base swap app to supply liquidity through BaseSwap once you have the tokens that pool requires.

Trading Uses a Pool to Set the Price

An automated market maker (AMM) exchanges tokens against a liquidity pool rather than waiting for another person to accept your trade. A pool holds tokens supplied by liquidity providers. When you trade, you add one token to the pool and take out the other.

A base swap can change the price within that pool: taking out more of a token makes the next unit cost more. This is called price impact, and it grows when a trade is large relative to the pool. For example, at an illustrative reference price of $2,000 per ETH, $100 USDC is worth 0.05 ETH; the amount a pool quotes may be lower after price impact and its trading fee.

Liquidity providers make those trades possible by depositing assets into a pool. In return, they hold a claim on their share, represented by LP tokens or another position record, depending on the pool design. Trading fees may add value to that position. Liquidity farming, where a position may earn separate incentives, is an additional activity; depositing into a pool alone does not establish that those rewards apply.

A Funded Wallet on Base Is the Starting Point

You need a crypto wallet holding the token you plan to trade on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer 2 network. You also need some ETH on Base to pay network gas, including for transactions involving USDC or another token. ETH held on Ethereum mainnet is on a different network; getting assets onto Base may require a supported transfer or bridge before you can trade.

Budget for three distinct effects on a swap: Base gas paid in ETH, any trading fee charged by the pool, and price impact from the size of your trade. A bridge or transfer can have its own cost. These amounts change with network conditions, the pool, and your trade size, so the quote and wallet confirmation are the figures to check for the transaction you are about to make.

Before connecting a wallet or approving spending, verify that you have reached the intended app and that the tokens have the correct contract addresses; different tokens can share a name or symbol. Read an approval’s spending amount, and never enter your wallet’s recovery phrase into a site. Those checks matter most when a token is unfamiliar or a transaction asks for more access than you expected.

Make the Trade, Then Add Liquidity if You Want To

On BaseSwap, swapping and providing liquidity are separate actions. Complete the trade first if your aim is simply to acquire a token. Continue through the pool steps only if you want to hold a liquidity position and accept the change in token amounts that can come with it.

1. Fund your wallet on Base. Send or bridge the token you intend to spend to the Base network, leaving some ETH on Base for gas. Check the destination network before sending, since an asset balance on another chain will not fund this transaction.

2. Connect your wallet. Let the exchange read your Base balances so it can prepare a trade for your address. Connecting does not itself exchange tokens; a swap still needs your wallet’s transaction confirmation.

3. Select the token pair. Choose the token you will spend and the one you want to receive, checking contract addresses when a symbol is ambiguous. For a typical example, that might mean spending USDC to receive ETH.

4. Enter the amount you want to spend. The AMM calculates an estimated output from available pool liquidity. For an unfamiliar token, a small first trade lets you see the actual result before committing a larger amount.

5. Review the quote. Compare the expected output, price impact, trading fee, and minimum received before proceeding. Minimum received reflects your slippage tolerance: with an illustrative quote of 0.05 ETH and 0.5% tolerance, it is roughly 0.04975 ETH. Slippage covers a price change before execution; it does not remove price impact already reflected in the quote.

6. Approve token spending if your wallet requests it. An approval gives a smart contract permission to use a specified token amount and may require its own gas transaction. It is distinct from the swap, so an approved token can remain in your wallet until you confirm the trade.

7. Confirm the swap in your wallet. Check the network, amount, and gas estimate before signing the transaction. After it settles, check the received token balance; some wallets require you to add a token’s contract address before its balance is displayed.

8. Choose a liquidity pool if you want to provide assets for trades. Look at its token pair, required deposit amounts, and pool terms. A familiar pair does not guarantee a stable return: your share of each token can change as traders use the pool.

9. Obtain the tokens the pool requires. Many standard two-token pools call for roughly equal values at deposit, while other designs set different amounts or a price range. If a pool requires WETH, check that you hold WETH rather than native ETH; wrapping ETH is a separate on-chain action that uses gas.

10. Deposit the specified amounts into the pool. Confirm any required token approvals and the deposit transaction in your wallet. Your position record shows your claim on the pool, which is what you use when you later remove liquidity.

11. Review your position before withdrawing. Compare the current amounts of both tokens and any earned fees with what you deposited. Removing liquidity returns your current share of the pool, which may contain different token quantities from your original deposit.

Two Questions Come Up After a First Trade

Can I swap tokens without providing liquidity?

Yes. Swapping uses liquidity that other people have supplied; you do not need to deposit into a pool yourself. If you only want to exchange USDC for ETH, stop after the swap settles. Providing liquidity is a separate decision that exposes you to both assets in a pair and to changes in their relative price.

Can a liquidity position lose value even if it earns fees?

Yes. If one token’s market price moves against the other, the pool adjusts the amounts in your position as traders swap. The position may then be worth less than simply holding your original tokens, a difference called impermanent loss. Fees can offset some or all of that difference, but they are not guaranteed to do so.

For a first trade, the deciding checks are the correct Base token, enough ETH for gas, and an acceptable minimum received. Add liquidity only after you understand the pool’s deposit terms and what you will own when you withdraw.

A cheap cross-chain route can take longer because it waits for more steps to finish. Before choosing one, compare the amount you will receive, the estimated time, and how the route moves your funds.

Why can the cheapest route take longer?

Routes use different methods to move value between blockchains. A bridge may wait for the source chain to confirm your transfer, pass a message between chains, then release tokens on the destination chain.

Each step takes time. A route that uses several steps, or waits for extra confirmations, may cost less but take longer to complete. Confirmations are blocks added after your transaction; waiting for more can reduce the chance that a chain later reverses it.

A faster route may use a liquidity provider: a service that sends you destination tokens from funds it already holds. It can pay a higher fee to make that transfer worthwhile. That can save time, but the fee or exchange rate may leave you with less.

For example, imagine two routes moving USDC from Ethereum to Polygon. One estimates 15 minutes and returns 99.80 USDC; another estimates 45 minutes and returns 100.10 USDC. These are illustrative figures, not current quotes. The second route offers more tokens, but only if you can wait.

What should you compare in a quote?

Compare the amount you will receive and the estimated time together. The cheapest route usually means the route with the highest expected amount after costs, not necessarily the lowest fee line.

Gas is the fee paid to run a transaction on a blockchain. A route may also include bridge fees, token-swap costs, and price impact, which is the loss caused when a trade moves the market price. Look at the final receive amount to see their combined effect.

An aggregator gathers routes from different bridges and liquidity sources, then presents quotes in one place. Bungee bridge does this kind of routing. Its displayed time is an estimate: the chosen bridge or service controls delivery, and network conditions can change while you wait.

If you are new to the wallet steps, read how to use Bungee bridge for the step-by-step. This article focuses on choosing between routes and understanding their timing trade-off.

When is a cheap route a poor choice?

A low-cost route can be inconvenient if you need the funds soon, or if its estimate is much longer than the alternatives. Check whether the quote names a route provider and shows a time estimate; without those details, you have less basis for comparing.

Also check what token arrives. A quote can involve a swap as well as a bridge, so the destination token may differ from the one you send. Confirm the token name and network before approving the transfer.

One edge case is a route that depends on a slow source-chain confirmation. Even if the destination chain is quick, it cannot receive the funds until the source step is accepted. A new block, a busy network, or extra checks can stretch the estimate.

How do you choose and track a route?

Start by entering the same source token, amount, and destination token for every quote. Then compare the receive amount with the estimated time, and decide which matters more for this transfer.

1. Pick a route whose receive amount and wait suit your needs.
2. Check the destination network and token, then review the wallet transaction details.
3. After sending, keep the transaction record and use the route’s status page or tracker to follow each stage.

If the estimate passes without delivery, check the status before sending again. The source transaction may have succeeded while the destination step is still pending; a second transfer could create a duplicate.

Choose by the time and final amount you can accept, not by the fee alone.