How to Exchange BTC for ETH Directly in Guarda Wallet and Check the Conversion Fee?

Direct BTC-to-ETH Swap Mechanics in Guarda Wallet

1. Guarda Wallet supports non-custodial, on-chain atomic swaps and integrates with third-party liquidity providers to enable direct BTC-to-ETH conversions without requiring users to leave the wallet interface.

2. The swap initiates by selecting Bitcoin as the source asset and Ethereum as the target asset within the “Exchange” tab — no external KYC is enforced at this layer since Guarda operates as a self-custody solution.

3. Users must hold BTC in their native Bitcoin address inside Guarda; wrapped BTC (e.g., WBTC) is not accepted for this path as the system routes through BTC UTXO settlement before bridging via cross-chain relayers.

4. ETH received post-swap lands directly into the user’s embedded Ethereum address, which Guarda generates and manages using deterministic HD key derivation.

5. Transaction finality depends on Bitcoin network confirmation speed and Ethereum block inclusion time — average completion spans 20–40 minutes under standard fee conditions.

Fee Structure Breakdown

1. Guarda applies a fixed service fee of 0.5% on the swapped amount, visible before confirmation and denominated in the output asset (ETH).

2. Network fees are separate: Bitcoin miners’ fees are estimated dynamically based on current mempool congestion and displayed in sat/vB prior to signing; Ethereum gas fees are quoted in Gwei and converted to ETH equivalent pre-execution.

3. Liquidity provider spreads vary per order size — orders above 0.1 BTC trigger tighter spreads due to aggregated depth from multiple DEX aggregators including 1inch and Changelly integration layers.

4. No hidden slippage protection is auto-enabled; users must manually set slippage tolerance (default: 1.5%) — exceeding this threshold cancels the transaction and refunds BTC.

5. Failed swaps due to timeout or price movement result in full BTC refund minus only the Bitcoin network fee already broadcast.

Real-Time Fee Verification Workflow

1. After entering the desired BTC amount, Guarda fetches live quotes from integrated liquidity sources every 8 seconds — timestamped with UTC precision in the UI footer.

2. The “Details” panel expands to show itemized cost: service fee, BTC miner fee (in USD and BTC), ETH gas fee (in USD and ETH), and total output ETH after all deductions.

3. Historical fee data is not stored locally but can be audited via on-chain transaction receipts — each swap generates a unique reference ID linking to both BTC and ETH blockchain explorers.

4. Users may toggle between “Best Rate” and “Lowest Fee” modes — the former prioritizes exchange rate efficiency, the latter minimizes total out-of-pocket costs even if output ETH decreases slightly.

5. Fee estimates update automatically if the user remains on the confirmation screen longer than 60 seconds; stale quotes expire and require manual refresh.

Security Constraints and Limitations

1. BTC private keys never leave the device — signature occurs entirely within the browser extension or mobile secure enclave during swap initiation.

2. ETH destination address is validated against the user’s own HD-derived Ethereum address; pasting an external address triggers a hard rejection unless explicitly whitelisted in advanced settings.

3. Guarda does not support Lightning Network inputs for BTC swaps — only confirmed on-chain UTXOs older than six blocks qualify.

4. Minimum swap size is 0.005 BTC; maximum single-transaction limit is 2.0 BTC unless elevated via hardware wallet pairing and biometric re-authentication.

5. Transactions involving BTC from multisig or P2SH-P2WPKH scripts fail silently — only native SegWit (bech32) and legacy P2PKH outputs are processed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I reverse a BTC-to-ETH swap after confirming the transaction?A: No. Once signed and broadcast to the Bitcoin network, the swap is irreversible. Guarda cannot intervene, cancel, or alter on-chain state.

Q: Why does my ETH balance not appear immediately after the BTC transaction confirms?A: ETH delivery depends on Ethereum block finality and relayer synchronization latency — delays up to 15 minutes beyond BTC confirmation are normal under peak load.

Q: Is the 0.5% service fee applied before or after network fees are deducted?A: It is calculated on the gross BTC amount entered, then subtracted from the final ETH output — not from intermediate fiat-equivalent values.

Q: Do I need to hold ETH in my wallet to pay for the gas fee during the swap?A: No. Guarda covers the Ethereum gas fee using internal reserve funds and deducts it from your final ETH output — no pre-funding required.