BTC → ETH

What makes BTC -> ETH specific

BTC and ETH live on entirely separate chains with different consensus models, block times, and fee markets. A swap is not a bridge - the provider takes BTC on the Bitcoin network and sends native ETH on Ethereum mainnet (or, with some routes, an L2 like Arbitrum or Base, or a wrapped form like WETH). Bitcoin confirmations dominate the timing: expect 10-40 minutes end to end depending on the required confirmation count, while the ETH leg settles in seconds once broadcast. Liquidity on this pair is the deepest in crypto, so spreads are usually tight, but the BTC mempool fee environment can swing your effective rate if the provider deducts network fees from the output.

Choosing a provider for this pair

• Network selection: confirm the destination is ETH mainnet unless you explicitly want an L2. Sending to an exchange deposit address on the wrong network is unrecoverable.
• Rate type: floating rates track the market until execution and usually give a better number; fixed rates lock the quote but charge a wider spread to cover provider risk during BTC confirmations.
• Min/max: most aggregator routes start around 0.001 BTC and cap in the low double digits without extra verification.
• Refund address: always set a BTC refund address you control, in case the deposit lands outside the quoted window.

Practical tips: time the swap when Bitcoin mempool fees are low (weekends, off-peak UTC hours) since high BTC fees compress your output. For amounts above ~1 BTC, split into two transactions to test the route and reduce exposure to a single quote. Verify the ETH receiving address character by character - clipboard hijackers target this pair specifically because the output is immediately usable on DEXes.