Cross-chain swap

What it refers to

A cross-chain swap is a trade in which the asset given up and the asset received sit on different blockchain networks: for example, ETH on Ethereum exchanged for SOL on Solana. The user asks for one thing, the destination asset on the destination network, rather than moving an asset across first and then trading it in a separate step.

SODAX calls this a cross-network trade (often searched as cross chain swap or cross chain exchange), where cross-network means across blockchain networks.

Why this concept exists

Blockchain networks keep separate state and separate liquidity, and no network can complete a trade on another by itself. Without a coordinated cross-network trade, a user moves an asset to the other network, looks for liquidity there and trades, each as its own step.

When those steps are stitched together and one of them fails, the user can be left holding an asset on a network they did not ask for, with no clear way back. The concept exists because people want the trade itself, not the steps.

What this changes for system design

A cross-network trade is a process that unfolds over time, not one transaction. Execution is asynchronous: each network confirms its part on its own schedule, so the system has to track every step and settle only once the destination asset has arrived.

On SODAX, apps offer cross-network trades by calling the SODAX API. SODAX routes, quotes and settles, and a permissioned solver within the SODAX system performs the fill. The trade completes as requested or reverts and returns the original assets, with no mid-route substitution of the destination token, and SODAX never takes custody of the assets along the way.

Related terms

• Cross-network execution: the wider capability behind the trade
• Bridge: moves an asset, not the trade
• Cross-network transfer: same asset, different network
• Intents: how the request is structured
• Recoverability: completes or reverts
• SODAX API: how apps offer the trade