Why one swap takes two minutes and another takes an hour

07 September 2026

A swap takes two minutes when both blockchains are fast, uncongested, and the deposited amount clears confirmations quickly. It takes an hour when any of those conditions is reversed - a slow chain, network congestion, or a blockchain that requires many confirmations before releasing funds.

The core variable is the confirmation time of the sending blockchain and the receiving blockchain, plus the number of confirmations each demands. Some blockchains finalize a transaction in seconds. Others take minutes per block and require dozens of blocks before the exchanger considers the deposit settled.

The fast case

A swap that finishes in two minutes usually involves two blockchains with short block times and low confirmation requirements. Solana, for example, produces blocks every 400 milliseconds. The exchanger might accept a deposit after 1 - 2 confirmations. That means the sending transaction is considered final within a second or two. The receiving chain, if equally fast, can send the output transaction almost immediately. The total time becomes the sum of a few seconds of confirmations plus the time the exchanger’s matching engine needs to pick up the deposit and issue the outgoing transaction. Two minutes is generous in that scenario; it can be faster.

The slow case

A swap that takes an hour typically involves at least one blockchain that is slow by design. Bitcoin produces a block roughly every ten minutes. Many exchangers require 3 - 6 confirmations for Bitcoin deposits. That alone is 30 to 60 minutes of waiting before the deposit is considered settled, even if the network is running normally. If Bitcoin is congested - mempool full, fees low - a transaction might sit unconfirmed for multiple block intervals, stretching the wait further.

Ethereum can also cause delays. Its block time is roughly 12 seconds, but during periods of high demand, a transaction with a low gas price might wait for many blocks before being included. Some exchangers require 12 - 36 confirmations on Ethereum, adding minutes to the wait even when the network is clear.

Other factors that widen the gap

• The receiving chain’s speed. A swap is not finished until the outgoing transaction has enough confirmations to be considered irreversible on the destination chain. If the destination chain is slow, the tail end of the swap drags.
• Liquidity availability. If the exchanger does not hold the output token in its hot wallet, it may need to pull from reserves or complete an internal rebalance. That can add minutes.
• Manual review triggers. Large swaps or swaps involving unusual token pairs sometimes trip manual review rules. A human checking the transaction adds unpredictable delay.
• Network congestion on either side. A fast chain can slow down if blocks are full or if the network is under stress. A normally two-minute swap can stretch to ten or fifteen. A normally hour-long swap can stretch to several hours.

Why you see a time range in the quote

The exchanger cannot know, at quote time, exactly how congested the network will be in the next few minutes or how many confirmations the deposit will need before the receiving chain is ready. It estimates a range based on historical averages. The low end of the range assumes everything runs smoothly. The high end assumes typical worst-case congestion.

What to do while you wait

This is where the hub page - "Why your swap is still pending and what actually speeds it up" - becomes useful. It covers the actions that actually help, such as checking the deposit transaction on a block explorer, understanding whether the delay is on the sending side or the receiving side, and knowing when to contact support versus when to wait. The short answer: if the deposit transaction has confirmations and the time is still within the quoted range, do nothing. If it exceeds the range, check the block explorer for the deposit address. If the deposit is unconfirmed, the problem is on the sending chain. If the deposit is confirmed but the swap has not moved, the problem may be on the exchanger’s side.

A two-minute swap and an hour-long swap are not anomalies. They are the normal ends of a distribution shaped by blockchain speeds, confirmation policies, and network conditions at the moment you pressed send.

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