• The sending wallet does not need to connect, but it must send on the right blockchain.
• Open a fresh channel for each swap and send within its 24-hour lifetime.
• Allow for the wallet’s network fee and the swap’s changing net output.

Why can an unconnected wallet fund the swap?

A deposit channel is a temporary address tied to one set of swap instructions. The Chainflip protocol can swap native assets such as BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDC across supported blockchains, without requiring wrapped versions. A broker, meaning a service that submits the swap details, registers where the funds should go before you send them.

The sender and the swap instructions are separate. You can arrange the swap using one device or wallet, then send from a second wallet or exchange account. That second wallet only needs to make an ordinary transfer to the channel address; it does not need to sign into the swap service.

How do you fund the channel safely?

Follow these steps in order, because the address is tied to the specific swap and expires.

1. Choose the source and destination. Decide which asset you will send and which asset and blockchain should receive it. For example, sending SOL from Solana to ETH on Arbitrum means the source is SOL on Solana, not an ETH token on another network.
2. Set the receiving address and refund address. The destination address receives the swapped asset; a refund address is where funds may be returned if the swap cannot complete. Check both carefully, since a correct address on the wrong blockchain can still send funds somewhere unusable.
3. Open a new deposit channel for those details. The broker registers the swap on Chainflip’s State Chain, an account ledger that coordinates swap activity. The resulting channel has a unique deposit address, and stays open for 24 hours. Chainflip’s protocol documentation describes this registration as the step that connects a later payment to its intended destination.
4. Check the source asset, network, and amount before sending. Copy the channel address into the wallet that holds the funds, select the matching network, and review the transfer. Do not send straight to a general vault address: without a registered swap, the protocol may not know how to handle that payment.
5. Send while the channel is open, then watch for completion. The source blockchain first confirms the payment. Chainflip validators, who check transactions and report confirmed deposits, then allow the protocol to process the swap and send the destination asset. If sending from an exchange, allow for its withdrawal delay; a payment arriving after the channel closes may need help to resolve.

What does it cost, and when is another route better?

Budget for two kinds of cost: the source-chain transaction fee and the swap’s net-output reduction. The first is paid by the sending wallet in that network’s fee asset; the second can reflect the exchange rate, price impact (how your trade size moves the available price), protocol charges, and the cost of sending on the destination chain. Bitcoin’s network uses miner fees, while Solana’s fee documentation explains that Solana transactions require SOL for network fees.

For a simple example, suppose you send 0.01 BTC from a wallet with 0.0101 BTC available. If the illustrative Bitcoin transaction fee is 0.0001 BTC, the wallet can cover the transfer and fee; the amount swapped is still 0.01 BTC. The final ETH amount will be lower than a spot-price conversion if swap or destination costs apply, so compare the quoted net amount with moving the assets separately.

This route is useful when the source wallet is unconnected or you want to send directly from an exchange. A connected-wallet route may be more convenient if you want the swap and payment in one flow. The deciding factor is whether the separate transfer is worth the extra control over which wallet funds it.

In short, register the swap first, then send the matching asset from any wallet before the channel expires. Check the destination details and leave enough balance for the source network fee.

If you move tokens across chains often, choose the route by what reaches your destination wallet after costs, then check whether its arrival time fits your plan. The headline “fee” alone can hide a worse exchange rate, separate source-chain gas, or an output token you did not intend to receive.

Which number tells you the route is cheaper?

Compare the value you expect to receive with the full cost of sending the transaction. A quote may show the destination amount after its route fees, while source-chain gas is paid separately from your wallet; count that gas once, and do not subtract fees already reflected in the quoted output a second time.

For example, suppose you send $1,000 worth of tokens. Route A quotes $992.40 at the destination and estimates $2.10 in source gas, for an estimated $990.30 after gas. Route B quotes $994.00 but estimates $4.80 in gas, leaving $989.20. These are illustrative figures: Route A has the better estimated net value, even though its quoted output is lower.

Keep the destination asset fixed as well as the amount. A quote in a volatile or wrapped token is not directly comparable with one in the stablecoin you actually need; compare both in a common value, and check the token contract or canonical asset identity before you sign.

Why can a route with a low fee deliver less?

A cross-chain swap may exchange your token on the source chain, move value between networks, then exchange again on the destination chain. Each swap can incur price impact—the price change caused by the size of your trade—and slippage, the difference between the quoted and executed price. The route’s final output captures these effects better than a fee line by itself.

Check the minimum output and slippage setting before approving. Minimum output is the least the transaction will accept at execution; a route that shows a slightly better quote but permits a much lower minimum gives you less protection if market prices move while the transaction is pending. For repeated trades, use the same slippage setting when comparing routes, unless the token’s liquidity makes that setting impractical.

When the task is to move value and exchange tokens in one flow, the fermi swap route can handle that combined cross-chain job. Compare its estimated destination amount and source gas with other available routes for the same token pair and size; a single interface saves steps, but the live quote still decides whether the trade suits your price target.

How should you weigh speed against the quote?

Separate source confirmation from destination delivery. The source transaction can confirm quickly while the bridge or destination swap still waits on another step, so read the route’s estimated completion time and status stages rather than treating the first wallet confirmation as arrival.

Routes can reach the destination in different ways. For example, deBridge’s DLN uses solvers: a solver supplies the requested destination tokens, then the source funds are unlocked through the protocol. Axelar routes can use validator-approved cross-chain messages followed by destination execution. Those mechanisms have different dependencies, so a quoted time is an estimate, not a guarantee that every route will finish at the same pace.

If you need funds by a deadline, decide how much the extra speed is worth in your destination token. A route that saves several minutes but delivers meaningfully less may be a poor choice for a routine transfer; for a time-sensitive position, the faster quote may justify that cost.

What is a useful routine for frequent swaps?

Use the same comparison inputs each time: source chain, destination chain, exact token pair, amount, receiving wallet, and slippage setting. Refresh quotes together, then compare expected destination output, separate gas, minimum output, and estimated completion time. A quote can change before you sign, so treat it as a snapshot and review the wallet’s transaction details.

Before and after: instead of choosing the route with the smallest fee label, you now rank routes by net destination value and use delivery time as a second decision. Save your common pair and amount as a starting point if your interface supports it, but refresh the quote for each transfer because liquidity and gas change.

For a frequent user, fermi swap is most useful when its combined route removes a manual swap or bridge step without giving up too much net output or time. The best routine is to compare the same inputs, pick the quote that meets your delivery need, and verify the final wallet prompt.

Takeaway: Compare what arrives after separate gas, then pay for speed only when the timing matters.