Swapping to and from the Bitcoin network

Bitcoin uses an unspent-output (UTXO) model and has no general smart-contract layer. That single fact removes the two steps an EVM swap depends on: there is no token-approval transaction to sign, and there is no contract for a router to call on your behalf. Native BTC also has no ERC-20 form on its own chain, so there is nothing on Bitcoin for a swap contract to hold.

The practical consequence is that connecting a wallet would achieve nothing here. Multiswap skips the wallet-connect and switch-network steps entirely for a Bitcoin source and produces a deposit address instead. You send BTC to that address from whatever wallet or account already holds it, and the route settles on the destination chain.

Because nothing is signed from a connected wallet, a Bitcoin-source route asks for two things up front. The first is the destination: the asset and network you want to receive, and — when that destination is also non-EVM — an explicit receiving address in that chain's own format.

The second is a Bitcoin refund address. A deposit-based route has no connected wallet to fall back on, so if a deposit arrives outside the expected window or the route cannot complete, there has to be somewhere to return the funds. That address is bound into the quote when it is signed, which is what stops it being substituted later. Set it to a Bitcoin address you control.

BTC is the only asset on the Bitcoin network itself, so every route here is cross-chain by definition. Multiswap compares the engines that quote native Bitcoin and ranks them by the net amount you actually receive, after routing and estimated network costs rather than on a headline rate.

Common destinations are a stablecoin on whichever network you intend to use it (Ethereum, Tron, Solana and others), or a native asset on another Layer 1. Routes back into BTC work the same way in reverse, with the Bitcoin address you want to receive at supplied as the destination.

Most Bitcoin problems come from treating the deposit address like an EVM address. It is single-purpose and tied to one quote: reusing an old one, or sending a second deposit to an address from a previous swap, is the most common way funds end up needing manual recovery.

The other recurring mistake is the refund address. Pasting an address from a different chain — an EVM address, or an exchange deposit address that only accepts a specific memo — leaves the route without a usable fallback. Confirm it is a Bitcoin address, and one you can actually access.

Multiswap shows a net-of-fee quote before you confirm: an estimate of what lands at the destination after routing and network costs, instead of a top-line rate that shrinks on arrival. Bitcoin network fees are set by mempool conditions at the time of the transaction, so they move, and no quote can promise a specific settled amount.

Treat the quote as a snapshot for the moment it was produced. Cross-chain movements are hard to reverse once broadcast, so if a route is unfamiliar, send a small test amount and confirm it arrives before committing more.