The decentralised cryptocurrency exchange, Altcoin Exchange informed that on 7th of October their team successfully conducted the first atomic swap between Ethereum and Bitcoin. According to the startup, it is their first step towards the creation of a trustless exchange process.
Atomic swap allows for cryptocurrency trade between separate blockchains. What's important, the technology used makes such a transaction risk-free: the parties are confident that they will receive funds under the terms and conditions set or that the transfer will not take place at all. The first such exchange was conducted by the creator of Litecoin, Charlie Lee, between Bitcoin and LTC. You can read more about the atomic swaps in our previous article.
First atomic swap between Ethereum and Bitcoin
https://twitter.com/altcoinexchnge/status/916778395551227904
- altcoinexchnge
The Altcoin Exchange team exchanged 0.12345 ETH for 0.12345 BTC. As one of the developers explained, the transaction was carried out on the test network and its value was symbolically determined, so the exchange rate and value of the currencies were irrelevant. In the next tweet, the exchange thanked Charlie Lee and Decred projects for leading the way with atomic swaps.
The future is decentralisation
According to Andrew Gazdecki, the CEO of Altcoin Exchange, decentralised exchanges are the future of cryptocurrency exchange. The Atomic swaps are intended to be an essential part of this business model. The success of the team in carrying out the exchange between Ethereum and Bitcoin is expected to brinf closer the end of the centralized exchange model. Gazdecki believes that atomic swap will replace the traditional trading on the cryptocurrency exchange as a quick and safe method of exchange.
One of the most important arguments for exchanging on decentralised exchanges is security. Centralised exchanges, which are storing entrusted funds and customer data, are exposed to attacks and theft. The users of platforms such as Mt. Gox or BTC-e have experienced this issue the hard way. Since June 2011, 26 stock exchanges have fallen victim to hackers, causing millions of dollars lost. According to Gazdecki, decentralised stock exchanges are needed to prevent such situations. The Atomic swaps are intended to be a key element in creating a fully decentralised exchange platform. Such an exchange would ensure that transactions would be carried out at the same speed as on centralised exchanges, but without the risk of attacks and thefts.