What Is BasicSwap? Atomic Swap DEX

BasicSwap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that you run on your own computer to trade coins such as Bitcoin, Monero and Litecoin directly with other people. Each trade is an atomic swap, in which both sides lock their coins on their own blockchains and either both payments go through or both sides get their coins back. There's no account to open, no company holding your coins, and no trading fee beyond each blockchain's own network fees.

These docs explain how to install BasicSwap, how to make and take offers, and how it works underneath.

BasicSwap's Order Book page, with a price chart, the price of each enabled coin and a table of open offers between Bitcoin, Monero, Litecoin and Particl

How it works

BasicSwap combines an order book with the software to carry out swaps. Traders post offers, other traders bid on them, and when the offerer accepts a bid, the two BasicSwap apps exchange the keys, addresses and signatures that set up the swap. Nobody else takes part in a trade, and BasicSwap never holds anyone's coins.

Those messages travel over peer-to-peer message networks rather than through a server. BasicSwap can use Particl's SecureMessaging network (SMSG), SimpleX and Nostr, one or several at once, and encrypts every bid and swap message so that only the other trader can read it, as Message networks describes in more detail.

The swap itself happens on the two blockchains, using one of BasicSwap's two atomic swap protocols. One relies on a shared secret and hash timelocks and suits coins with scripts, such as Bitcoin and Litecoin, while the other relies on adaptor signatures and also works with Monero and Wownero, whose blockchains have no scripts at all. Under the hood explains how each one works.

What you get

Swaps across chains

Trade coins on different blockchains, such as Bitcoin for Monero, without wrapped tokens or a bridge.

A shared order book

Offers spread between traders over the message networks, so there's no central matching engine to go down or be shut off.

Nobody in the middle

You trade with the other person directly, and your coins stay in your own wallets until the swap.

No trading fees

You pay each blockchain's normal network fees and nothing else.

Privacy

There's no account or identity check, every message is encrypted, and you can trade Monero and run over Tor.

A web interface

You manage wallets, offers, bids and swaps in your browser, and scripts can do the same through a JSON API.

Supported coins

BasicSwap's Wallets page showing Particl, Bitcoin and Litecoin wallets with their balances, versions and blockchain sync progress

Particl is always enabled, and you choose which other coins to run. Bitcoin and Litecoin can run as Electrum light wallets, and Monero and Wownero can use a remote node, so you don't need to download those blockchains, while every other coin runs a full node.

Bitcoin and forks

Bitcoin (BTC), the first cryptocurrency, with an optional light wallet
Litecoin (LTC), a faster Bitcoin derivative with private MWEB transfers, with an optional light wallet
Bitcoin Cash (BCH), a Bitcoin fork focused on payments
Dogecoin (DOGE), a Litecoin-derived coin with one-minute blocks
Namecoin (NMC), a Bitcoin fork that also stores names and DNS records

Privacy coins

Monero (XMR), private by default, with an optional remote node
Wownero (WOW), a Monero fork, with an optional remote node
Particl (PART), with confidential and anonymous balances and the SMSG network
Firo (FIRO), with private Spark transactions
PIVX (PIVX), a proof-of-stake coin with shielded transactions

Other coins

Dash (DASH), built for fast payments, with optional CoinJoin mixing
Decred (DCR), with hybrid proof-of-work and proof-of-stake governance

Integrate a coin explains what a blockchain needs before BasicSwap can add it.