What is Atomic Swap

A atomic swap is a decentralized method to act coins or tokens against coins on another blockchain.

The basis for a Dex can. With the help of a simple smart contract, the coins are blocked by the trading partners for a while.

At the same time, off-chain transactions are exchanged that ensure that either both coins are transferred to their buyers or neither (hence atomic, atomic , in the sense of not divisible ), but never only one party that Coins can steal.

advantage : No middlemen are necessary and almost all coins (also Bitcoin) can be traded without trust.

Disadvantage : A party can escape from the trade at any time, which is why an atomic swap is similar to an option.