What if it were possible to send and receive cryptocurrencies across different blockchains? For example, using bitcoin on the Binance Chain would allow users to transact bitcoin for a lower transaction fee with a faster payment settlement time. Instead of taking roughly an hour to receive six confirmations on their BTC transaction, the transaction would take as little as 6 seconds to receive that same amount of confirmations on Binance Chain.
The Swingby Protocol makes this possible.
What is Swingby Protocol?
Swingby is a Singapore-based company founded by Yusaku Senga in 2018. Swingby noticed that despite bitcoin’s success, it faced significant issues when it comes to cross-chain interoperability and scalability.
To address these problems, Swingby created its Skybridge network. Skybridge enables swift and non-custodial token exchanges between all ECDSA-based blockchains, starting with Binance Chain, but soon expanding to USD stablecoins, Ethereum, and more.
Every blockchain has its benefits and caveats, but their native tokens are subject to technical parameters and cannot flow freely between chains. If a bitcoin user wanted to take advantage of another chain’s lower exchange fees—or use Dapps, decentralized exchanges, or other DeFi services that their original chain does not permit—they would have to convert their bitcoin into that chain’s native currency first.
Unfortunately, they would lose their position in BTC as well as their price exposure to its market movements in the process. However, through Swingby’s pegged 1:1 swaps, the Swingby’s protocol allows users to reap the benefits of different blockchains while still receiving price exposure to the original cryptocurrency’s market movements.
Having the ability to conduct cross-chain swaps increases the efficiency of the bitcoin network as well as the blockchain it is sent to. Bitcoin’s blockchain sometimes experiences periods of high traffic that create network bottleneck issues that lead to high transaction fees. However, offloading transactions to other chains could reduce the chance of these issues taking place on the bitcoin network. In addition, because Swingby gives you the ability to move bitcoin--the most liquid cryptocurrency in the market--to blockchains with less liquidity, Swingby simultaneously improves the liquidity of the blockchain that the bitcoin is sent to.
The first cross-chain transfer that Swingby has enabled through it’s testnet is bitcoin on the Binance blockchain. However, the team has plans to enable trustless swaps between USDT and BUSD, XRP and Tron, Ethereum and EOS, and many more.
The Benefits of Pegged 1:1 Cross-chain Swaps
There are numerous advantages to being a Swingby network participant. Skybridge is a proof of stake network that requires node operators. One of the foremost benefits of being a node operator on the Swingby network is that you earn passive income in the form of Swingby tokens for every swap that your node co-signs.
One of the most innovative features of Swingby is that it grants users the ability to leverage Dapps, DeFi services, and decentralized exchanges that are built outside of the blockchains they currently hold tokens for. In the current ecosystem, crypto holders must go through a centralized custodian to convert their cryptocurrency into the currency native of the respective platform they are interested in. But on Swingy, crypto-holders can use the platforms and services built on separate blockchains without having to swap the crypto they already hold for the cryptocurrency native to those platforms and services.
Swingby’s Skybridge is also perfect for privacy-conscious crypto users. Some individuals are hesitant to participate in the crypto world due to the Personal Identification Information they are required to share before they can get up and running. However, Swingby is trustless; there is no centralized custodian involved. Users also stay in control of their private keys on Swingby. Unlike centralized exchanges that often require users to surrender custody of their assets blindly to a third-party.
How Can I execute cross-chain swaps?
Through Swingby, crypto-users can take advantage of features belonging to blockchains other than the ones they currently hold tokens on. Swingby is ushering in a new era of crypto liquidity and blockchain interaction. Users no longer need to relinquish their assets or risk exposing private information to third parties if they seek lower exchange fees, faster transaction speeds, or the ability to use platforms and services built on other blockchains.
Individuals interested in using the Swingby SkyBridge can get started by heading over to https://bridge-testnet.swingby.network/ and sending their BTC to the Binance Chain.
Soon, Swingby will be hosting a 1 BTC giveaway for the testnet user who generates the most trading volume. If you have any questions about Swingby or are looking for more details on the Swingby Skybridge and its upcoming contest, you can find more information on the Swingby Telegram channel.
