Making Your First Swap

Detailed Walkthrough

This guide walks you through every step of your first trade, from having funds in your wallet to receiving a new token.

Before You Start

Make sure you have:

A Telegram account with @SwaptainBot set up (see Quick Start)
A wallet created or imported in Swaptain
Funds deposited into your Swaptain wallet (use /deposit to get your address)

New to crypto? Check out our Crypto Fundamentals section to understand the basics before your first trade.

Step-by-Step Buy

Open the Buy Menu

Send /buy in your chat with @SwaptainBot, or tap Buy from the main menu.

Search for a Token

Type the ticker of the token you want to buy (e.g., ETH, USDC, AVAX). You can also paste a contract address for tokens not found by ticker.

Swaptain shows matching results with:

Token name and ticker
Chain it's on
Current price
Security risk rating

Select Your Source Asset

Choose which asset you want to pay with from your wallet. For example, if you deposited BTC and want to buy ETH, select BTC as your source.

Swaptain shows your available balance for each asset.

Enter the Amount

Enter how much of the source asset you want to spend. You can type a number or use the quick-select buttons (25%, 50%, 75%, 100% of balance).

Review the Quote

Swaptain displays:

Expected output — how much of the destination token you'll receive
Minimum received — worst case based on your slippage tolerance
Fees — total cost including platform fee and gas
Estimated time — how long the swap should take

Review everything carefully. If the quote looks good, tap Confirm.

Quotes are based on current market conditions. If you wait too long, the rate may change. You can always cancel and request a fresh quote.

Swap Executes

After confirming, Swaptain handles everything:

Token approval (if needed for EVM tokens)
Transaction submission to the source chain
Cross-chain routing through THORChain
Delivery to your wallet on the destination chain

You'll receive Telegram notifications as the swap progresses through each stage.

Check Your Balance

Once complete, use /menu to see your updated balances. Your new tokens will appear in your portfolio.

Selling Tokens

The sell flow works similarly — use /sell, select the token from your wallet, choose what you want to receive, and confirm. It's the same process in reverse.

Common First-Swap Questions

How long does it take? Typically 2-15 minutes depending on the chains involved. Same-chain swaps are fastest. Bitcoin cross-chain swaps take the longest due to block confirmation times (~10 minutes per block).

What if I change my mind? Before confirming, you can cancel at any point. After confirming and the transaction is submitted, it cannot be reversed.

What's slippage tolerance? This is the maximum price movement you're willing to accept. If the price moves more than your tolerance (default 3%), the swap is cancelled and your funds are returned. Learn more in Settings.

Why does my token show a risk rating? Swaptain automatically screens every token for security risks. If a token shows "Medium Risk" or "High Risk", review the warnings before proceeding. See Supported Chains for details on risk ratings.

My swap failed — what happened? Common reasons include insufficient gas, price drift beyond your slippage tolerance, or temporary network issues. See Troubleshooting for solutions.