"Crypto swap" and "crypto exchange", let's take a look at these two terms and try to find out what the key differences are.
The two terms are essentially synonyms when they refer to the process of exchanging (or swapping, or trading) one cryptocurrency for another one.
But the same two terms can refer to an online platform for performing such exchanges, and here's where the differences come into play.
"Crypto exchange", when it means such an online platform, is an ambiguous term. It can refer to quite a wide variety of online services, from comprehensive trading platforms, like Binance or Kraken, to accountless crypto swap services, like ours.
Giants like Binance or Kraken offer a wide range of financial services: spot trading, margin trading, derivatives and more. They have three key features in common you should definitely take into account:
And the third point is definitely the most important, and it imposes a significant risk. To begin trading, you have to transfer your funds to the crypto exchange. And right from that moment, the exchange owns your money, not you! "Not your keys, not your coins", that's a well-known phrase in the crypto world. Needless to say, this particular feature of such exchanges requires a great deal of trust. But even the established and trustful-looking exchanges can eventually fail, the recent FTX case being a shocking example.
On the other hand, "crypto swap" is a narrower term. It refers to the simple process of swapping one cryptocurrency for another one, without more complex variations as margin trading, derivatives etc. Online platforms for making crypto swaps can still require creating an account, sometimes involving KYC as well, but more often, these platforms are accountless and non-custodial.
And these are great advantages. You don't have to create an account and give away your personal data. And the most important benefit of a crypto swap service being non-custodial mean you are always in control of your funds. You don't have to transfer your money to a third-party service to make crypto swaps on an accountless platform. Such swaps are performed instantly... well, almost instantly, because all crypto networks and protocols require confirmations for each transaction, and it takes some time.
Our crypto swap platform, SwapNow, falls exactly into this category: accountless and non-custodial. So you don't have to create an account, we don't ask for your personal information and we never overtake control of your funds. The only piece of information required to perform a crypto swap on our platform is your destination crypto address.
Happy crypto swapping!