How to Do a Decentralized Cross-Chain Token Swap using Symbiosis Finance

Perhaps you have already tried exchanging tokens from different blockchains using crypto exchanges. However, most of these crypto exchanges are centralized and often have KYC requirements before you can use them. One way you can skip the centralized process is by using Symbiosis Finance.

Symbiosis Finance is a multi-chain AMM decentralized exchange and liquidity protocol. It lets users swap tokens across different blockchains.  It currently allows token swap across Ethereum, BNB, Polygon and Avalanche. The whole process can also be done in just one-click. Today, I will discuss the step-by-step process I took to do a cross-chain token swap.

Step 1: Go to symbiosis.finance and Connect your Wallet

You will see a user interface similar to the photo above once you open the website. Click on "Try App" on the upper-right corner of the screen. The app will let you chose what crypto wallet you can to use. You can use the following wallets: Metamask, XDEFI, Coin98, Wallet Connect, Trust Wallet and ONTO Wallet.

Step 2: Select tokens to Swap

After connecting your wallet, you will now be able to access the exchange. You can now see the option to choose the token you want to swap. In order to choose the token you want to be exchanged, click on "Select a token" drop-down menu. For this example, I will try to exchange my MATIC tokens to Ether (from Ethereum Network). In order to exchange my MATIC tokens, click on Polygon Network and choose MATIC. Alternatively, you can also search the token from the search bar. You can also input the amount of tokens to be exchange on this step.

After selecting the token to exchange, select the token to be received. For this example, the token to be received is Ether. Click on the Ethereum Network and choose Ether. You can also use the search bar.

Step 3: Enter Destination Address of the Token to be Received

After setting the tokens to be exchange and the output token, you can also set the destination address. Click on the address bar with the gear icon near the "Transfer to". By default, the address written here is the same with the address of the wallet connected. If the recipient address is different, you can write the new address on the field provided. Once you have written it correctly, click "Change Recipient".

Step 4: Swap Tokens

Once you are done, you will see a user interface similar to the image below. This will show specific details about the transaction like the slippage, amount to be sent, transaction fee, etc. Check these details first before executing the transaction. 

After checking the details, click on "Swap". Another box will pop out which also contains the transaction details in summary. This will allow you to recheck the details again in case you missed something. Once your okay, click "Confirm". This will trigger a transaction from your connected wallet.

Another box will pop out showing the progress of the transaction.

Step 5: Check if Transaction is Executed.

You can check if the transaction is executed by checking it on the blockchain record. In my case, I checked the transaction on Etherscan. The image below shows the proof that the transaction indeed came through.

Conclusion

My experience with using Symbiosis Finance is generally good. The whole process in doing a transaction is relatively easy and quick. If you have tried using Uniswap before then using Symbiosis Finance will not be difficult. One downside however is the high amount of transaction fee that is charged in order to do the transaction. The whole transaction had costed me 49 USDC which is very high compared to centralized exchanges. You might want to consider this factor before using the protocol with cross-chain token swap. I also had a bit of trouble with confirming the transaction because my Metamask said that the transaction had failed although this is just a false alarm because the transaction actually came through. 

Overall, using Symbiosis Finance has been a good way to do a decentralized cross-chain swap. I really hope they add more chains in the future.

Originally posted in Publish0x.com