If you are moving from a central exchange to your own wallet, expect a BTC-to-ETH quote to change with trade size and pool depth. The quoted amount is an estimate of what the route can deliver, not a fixed exchange rate.
Your quote depends on the pools your trade uses
A cross-chain swap can route through liquidity pools: shared reserves of assets used to make trades. The pool’s asset ratio helps set the price, and your trade changes that ratio. THORChain’s documentation describes this pool-based model and its slip-based fees.
When you want to move assets across chains in one flow, a thor swap service handles that cross-chain swap for you. Check the quoted amount against your target before sending, because a larger trade can move the pool price more.
For example, imagine one pool holds about $100,000 worth of each asset. A $1,000 trade would receive about $990 worth at the pool curve’s price, before fees. If a route uses two similarly sized pools, the curve effects could bring the output to about $980. These figures are illustrative; actual pool depth and route details decide the quote.
Separate price impact from fees and market movement
Price impact is the change caused by your trade using pool liquidity. Slippage is the difference between the expected price and the final execution price; it can include price movement while the swap is underway. A quote may also account for network costs, which pay for transactions on the source and destination chains.
Compare the final amount you expect to receive, not just the displayed exchange rate. A deep pool can still give a worse quote if the market moves before execution, and a small trade can face a poor rate in a shallow pool. I would choose the route with an acceptable minimum output and clear costs, rather than chase the biggest headline rate.
For a wallet-based thor swap, check that the source asset, destination asset, and receiving address are correct. Then compare the quote with a second estimate, and make sure the minimum output is enough for you. If the market moves past that limit, some swap systems may stop or return the remaining funds; the exact rule depends on the service.
Questions to check before you send
Why can the amount change after I get a quote?
The pool ratio can shift as other trades arrive, and your own trade affects that ratio too. A cross-chain swap also waits for activity on separate blockchains, so the market may move before the destination asset is delivered. Check the quoted amount again before sending and use the minimum output as your acceptance limit.
How much does a larger trade affect the quote?
It depends on the trade size compared with available pool depth. A $1,000 trade against a pool holding about $100,000 of each asset can have roughly 1% curve impact per leg in a simple constant-product example, before fees. A real route can differ, so use the quote for your amount.
What should I do if the quote is too low?
Wait and check again, or consider a smaller amount if the pool is shallow. Splitting a trade can reduce the impact on each pool, but it may add network costs and take longer. I would only split when the likely price improvement is greater than those extra costs.
- Check the route and the amount you will receive.
- Compare the quote with your minimum acceptable output.
- Confirm both asset names and the receiving address.