In 2025, opportunities are everywhere - but they're spread across dozens of blockchains. Whether it's yield farming on Arbitrum, NFT trading on Base, or leveraging the latest DeFi protocols on Optimism, there are often more exciting opportunities on other chains beyond where you currently have your assets.
Enter crosschain swaps: a powerful evolution in blockchain interoperability that builds on the foundation of secure bridging to enable more complex crosschain actions. By combining crypto bridging with token swaps, crosschain swaps represent another step toward seamless multichain interactions - letting users use their assets across blockchains efficiently.
This guide will explore how crosschain swaps work, their benefits and challenges, and why Intents-based solutions are leading the next wave of blockchain interoperability. We'll also examine how Across is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in crosschain interactions through secure bridging and advanced crosschain capabilities.
What Is A Crosschain Swap?
A crosschain swap lets you swap a token on one chain for a different token on another. For example, swapping USDT on Arbitrum to ETH on Base. Unlike traditional swaps conducted on centralized exchanges, crosschain swaps allow direct exchanges between blockchains.
Crosschain swaps combine the features of bridging and swapping into a single action. Rather than performing multiple steps—like bridging an asset to a new chain and then swapping it for another token—crosschain swaps allow you to manage assets across networks efficiently without relying on centralized intermediaries.
These types of actions are beneficial for a variety of reasons, including:
Removing the need to bridge and swap separately, streamlining your asset movements.
Allowing you to complete complex asset transfers in one step instead of multiple.
Helping you optimize liquidity by managing tokens across chains without the need to maintain balances in numerous wallets.
Crosschain swaps are powerful tools for multichain DeFi interactions. When implemented effectively, they can help users (like you) unlock the full potential of the multichain multiverse.
How Does A Crosschain Swap Work?
Crosschain swaps use various mechanisms to facilitate asset exchanges across blockchains. Currently, crypto bridges are one of these most common mechanisms. In this approach, some bridges lock tokens on a source blockchain and mint/wrapped tokens on the destination chain, which can then be swapped for a desired asset.
You're probably thinking: "Bridge and swap separately? I can just do that myself." You could - but when you use a crosschain protocol to achieve this outcome, it automates the entire process to simplify the user experience into as few actions as possible.
Plus, this is simply one way that crosschain swaps are achieved.
Let's take a look at some of the other common approaches:
Over-the-counter (OTC) swaps are trust-based exchanges conducted directly between parties. These swaps come with high risks, such as counterparty default (i.e., the seller backing out after receiving payment), and are generally just unsuitable for decentralized systems.
Hash Time-Locked Contracts (HTLCs) are early mechanisms for crosschain swaps. They use cryptographic hash functions and time-based escrow to facilitate transactions between parties. While secure, HTLCs are limited in scalability and usability, making them impractical for widespread adoption.
Atomic swaps enable decentralized exchanges between chains without intermediaries. While they align with decentralization principles, they require both chains to support specific technical conditions, limiting their flexibility.
General message passing (GMP) automates crosschain swaps by opening communication between chains to execute transactions. GMP introduces risks such as data integrity issues and vulnerabilities in messaging protocols, which can compromise the security of a swap.
Intents-Based Interoperability (Across' Approach):
Across revolutionizes crosschain interactions through our Intents-based architecture. While traditional crosschain swaps focus only on token exchanges, Across enables more comprehensive crosschain capabilities through our Embedded Actions feature.
Here's how it works:
Users express their intent for both bridging and subsequent actions on the destination chain
Relayers compete to fulfill these intents quickly and efficiently
The entire process happens in a single transaction from the user's perspective
For example, with Across, you can:
Bridge assets and immediately stake them in a protocol
Send funds crosschain and automatically deposit them into a yield-generating position
Move assets between chains and directly enter DeFi positions - all in one seamless action
This approach stands out because:
It uses canonical assets for maximum security
The Intents-based system abstracts away complex technical steps
Users get immediate, capital-efficient execution through the relayer network
Everything from bridging to protocol interactions happens automatically
By combining secure bridging with Embedded Actions, Across delivers what users really want: the ability to put their assets to work across any chain without friction. This represents a significant advancement in crosschain interoperability, enabling users to focus on opportunities rather than mechanics.
Read our dedicated guide to 1-click crosschain actions.
Are you a developer interested in integrating embedded crosschain actions? Start here.
How Do Crosschain Swaps Compare?
Although bridging, swapping, and transferring crypto may all seem like similar actions, there are significant differences that set each of these apart. Although we compared and contrasted these unique interactions in depth in our guide on the topic, let’s recap below.
Crypto bridging, swapping, and transfers may all seem like similar actions, but there are important differences that set each of these apart.
So what makes crosschain swaps truly unique here?
By connecting different chains, crosschain swaps improve liquidity across the DeFi ecosystem, effectively growing the pie for all who participate. Additionally, crosschain swaps are user-centric, removing the need for multiple wallets, DEX interactions, or reliance on centralized exchanges.
Why Do Crosschain Swaps Matter?
Crosschain swaps are a cornerstone of blockchain interoperability, allowing users to manage their assets seamlessly across multiple chains. By eliminating the need for centralized exchanges and intermediaries, they empower users with greater autonomy while upholding the decentralization that web3 holds dear.
The main takeaway here is that crosschain swaps simplify asset management. Crosschain swaps empower users to access opportunities on different chains by making it easy to move crypto around. Gone are the days of juggling multiple wallets or performing cumbersome multi-step processes to make your crypto work for you. Now is the era of a borderless web3 ecosystem.
Even beyond usability, this is a major win for developers because crosschain swaps unlock new possibilities for creating dApps that offer seamless multichain experiences. As the blockchain ecosystem grows increasingly interconnected (a mission Across is at the forefront of), crosschain swaps are essential for boosting user engagement, fostering liquidity, and reducing friction for all of web3.
Common Challenges of Crosschain Swaps
Hopefully, you understand just how powerful a crosschain swap can be by now. But don’t be fooled entirely; they still come with challenges, like technical complexity, scalability concerns, and potential security risks.
Technical Complexity: Crosschain swaps often involve intricate processes, such as locking and minting or message-passing systems, which can be challenging to implement and maintain.
Scalability Concerns: Many existing mechanisms (like HTLCs) struggle with liquidity limitations and slow transaction times, especially during periods of high network demand.
Security Risks: Vulnerabilities in smart contracts, reliance on validators, and the use of representative assets create significant attack surfaces for hacks and exploits (like 2022’s $624M Ronin Bridge hack).
By addressing these challenges with an Intent-based architecture, Across aims to redefine crosschain asset interoperability. Intents abstract away complex backend operations, reducing security risks, cutting latency, and streamlining the user experience for truly seamless multichain asset management.
The Across Advantage
Crosschain swaps represent the next step in blockchain interoperability, but they're only as good as the technology powering them. While the crosschain swapping paradigm continues to grow, Across' intent-based architecture has already revolutionized what's possible in crosschain interactions through:
Speed: Instant bridging means that users can transact in seconds, not minutes or hours.
Security: Across’ robust architecture ensures your assets stay safe by using canonical assets to fulfill user Intents and prioritize security.
Simplicity: Express your intent once, and let Across handle the rest - including any embedded actions on the destination chain.
Capital Efficiency: Relayers compete to fulfill orders, ensuring the best execution
Network Effect: With over 17 integrations and growing, Across is becoming the standard for crosschain interactions.
Whether you're a user managing assets across chains or a developer simply trying to make the DeFi space better and more intuitive, Across ensures your swaps are fast, cheap, safe, and simple.