HomeBlockchainMonero: now you can do atomic swaps with Bitcoin

Monero: now you can do atomic swaps with Bitcoin

A few days ago, the launch of atomic swap between Monero (XMR) and bitcoin (BTC) was announced. 

The official announcement revealed that the Atomic Swap implementation developed by the COMIT team is now considered mature enough to be used on the Monero mainnet.

How to use Atomic Swap with Monero

For now, makers can only buy BTC, while takers can only buy XMR, but since anyone can be a maker or taker, the system can, in fact, work in both directions. 

However, at the time of the announcement, it was reported that it was easier to sell BTC to cash XMR than the other way around. 

To try the swap, you need to download the ASB software developed by the COMIT team and follow the instructions, perhaps then letting the team know of any problems. The software also works on Tor. 

The fact is that this is an entirely new technology, so it might still have some unexpected bugs. In fact, it is recommended to test it only with small amounts. 

On the other hand, on the site unstoppableswap.net, you can make swaps without having to download the software. It is, in fact, a trustless exchange that allows the exchange of BTC with XRM using the new Atomic Swap, with the aim of becoming an alternative to centralized exchanges. 

UnstoppableSwap does not charge high commissions, and most importantly, it does not require users to share personal information. 

What are atomic swaps?

Atomic swaps are a fast way to exchange two cryptocurrencies without relying on a third party. They are called “atomic” because they only have two possible outcomes: either the trade is completed successfully, and then each user receives the funds from the other, or nothing happens, and both users keep all their funds. 

The protocol requires both parties to strictly follow the same rules, so it is impossible to use them to steal funds from others. That all happens without needing to rely on a manager, facilitator, or supervisor of the transaction, so they are trustless for all intents and purposes. 

Monero, unlike Bitcoin, is truly and completely anonymous because the transactions, despite being recorded publicly on the blockchain, have the main data obscured (i.e., encrypted) to make it effectively impossible to reconstruct them. The only ones who have access to this information are the senders and recipients of their transactions. 

XMR has often been used in place of BTC to make truly anonymous cryptocurrency transactions, and the new atomic swaps could help a lot in this regard. 

Monero: how the price of XMR reacted to the news

In the last week, the price of XMR has increased by 21%, precisely because it is assumed that there could be an increase in demand for this specific use once the habit of using trustless swaps with BTC eventually becomes widespread. 

However, it should be noted that XMR’s current price of around $325 is still 40% lower than its all-time high of $542, which was recorded in January 2018. Since then, only at the beginning of May 2021 did the price come back close to $500, but still remaining significantly below. 

Marco Cavicchioli
Marco Cavicchioli
Born in 1975, Marco has been the first to talk about Bitcoin on YouTube in Italy. He founded ilBitcoin.news and the Facebook group" Bitcoin Italia (open and without scam) ".
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