Atomic Swap Explained


An atomic swap is a smart contract technology that empowers the exchange of one cryptocurrency for an alternative cryptocurrency without using central intermediaries, such as exchanges. 


Atomic swaps can take place unswervingly amid blockchains of different cryptocurrencies, or they can be conducted off-chain, away from the foremost blockchain. They first came into prominence in September 2017, when an atomic swap between Decreed and Litecoin was conducted. 

Since then, other start-ups and decentralized exchanges have allowed users the same facility. For example, Lightning Labs, a start-up that uses bitcoin’s lightning network for transactions, has conducted off-chain swaps using the technology. Cryptocurrencies and decentralized exchanges, such as 0x and Altcoin.io, have also incorporated the technology. 

Atomic Swaps Break Down
As it occurs today, the process for switching cryptocurrencies is time-consuming and complex. This is due to several reasons. For example, the disjointed nature of today’s cryptocurrency ecosystem presents several challenges to average traders.

Not all cryptocurrency exchanges support all coins. As such, a trader wishing to exchange her coin for another one that is not supported on the current exchange may need to migrate accounts or make several conversions between intermediate coins to accomplish her goal. There is also an associated counterparty risk if the trader wishes to exchange her coins with another trader.  

Atomic swaps solve this problem through the use of Hash Time- lock Contracts (HTLC). As its name denotes, HTLC is a time-bound smart contract between parties that involves the generation of a cryptographic hash function, which can be verified between them.

Atomic swaps necessitate both parties to admit receipt of funds within a specified timeframe using a cryptographic hash function. If one of the involved parties fails to authorize the contract within the timeframe, then the entire transaction is voided, and funds are not exchanged. The latter action helps remove counterparty risk. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Understanding Liquidity

Image
The concept of  liquidity   has many facades to it. One way to define liquidity is “the ability of an asset to be converted into cash readily on demand”. An additional way of viewing at it is when any asset can be bought or sold at its fair price. Liquidity thus means that there aren’t discounts or bonuses devoted to it during buy or sell and it’s easy to enter and exit the asset. It is believed as more of an item is accepted and sold, the chances of charging premiums or giving discounts lower and such an asset usually trades around ‘what it is worth’. The forex market is often defined as a liquid market with an average turnover of more than $5 trillion daily as of April 2016 according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) while real estate is a classic example of an illiquid asset. Property as an asset is less liquid, requiring huge investments into physical form, monotonous procedures and smaller market.  Liquidity is significant for any tradable  asset , wh
Read more

5 Places to Visit in Reykjavík

Image
The capital of Iceland is a young, culturally happening city, as well as a launch pad for natural wonders that people dream of seeing their whole lives. Like any cool spot Reykjavík is also constantly reinventing itself, as you can see at the Grandi Area by the Old Harbour. Here fish packing factories have been turned into sharply designed visitor attractions, while creative murals coat the walls and cutting-edge Nordic restaurants have opened. The waterfront was chosen for the cultural venue, Harpa, a monument for 21st-century Reykjavík with a mesmerising facade by Ólafur Elíasson. You could stay in Reykjavík’s cosy embrace or stride out to visit the volcanic marvels in the Golden Circle and see whales in the Faxa Bay in summer. Hallgrímskirkja: Both a parish church and Iceland’s national sanctuary, Hallgrímskirkja is an ever-present feature of Reykjavík’s skyline. Conceived in the early-1940s by Guðjón Samúelsson, the church was 41 years in the making and was finally con
Read more

Weekly News Overview: Cryptocurrency

Image
Email Extortion Scam Targets Googles AdSense A new extortion scam targeting website owners serving banner ads through Google’s AdSense program has begun circulating the Internet. The malevolent scheme demands Bitcoin (BTC) in exchange for preventing an attack, which would purportedly lead to the users’ AdSense account suspension. The email-based extortion scheme was reported by security news and investigation blog KrebsOnSecurity, on Feb. 17. The blog post detailed that some site owners received a message as their site had been spotted by the malicious program as one seeking revenue from publishing an ad. Coinbase Pitches Crypto As A Solution For Racial Discrimination To mark Black History Month, Coinbase has launched an advertising campaign with the pitch that cryptocurrencies can help tackle racial injustice in the financial sector. As part of the campaign, the exchange published a blog post on Feb. 13 with the results of a survey it conducted in
Read more