If you want to swap BTC to ETH, the process is simpler than it looks: you send bitcoin from any wallet, and ether arrives at your Ethereum address once the Bitcoin deposit is confirmed. This guide walks through each step on ThinSwap, explains what you actually receive, how long it usually takes and where people tend to make mistakes.
Before you start: what you need
- A Bitcoin wallet with funds, either a self-custody wallet or an exchange account that lets you withdraw BTC.
- An Ethereum address you control. It starts with
0xand has 42 characters. MetaMask, Rabby, a hardware wallet or most mobile wallets will show one. - An amount within the limits: the minimum per order is 20 USD and the maximum is 1,000,000 USD, both expressed as the equivalent in BTC.
No account, sign-up or ID upload is needed on ThinSwap. You only provide the address where you want to receive ETH.
Which network will the ETH arrive on?
On the standard BTC to ETH pair, you receive native ETH on Ethereum mainnet. ThinSwap also supports ETH on Arbitrum and Base, which are layer-2 networks that use the same 0x address format. That shared format is convenient, but it also means a wallet will happily accept an address for any of the three. What matters is which network you pick in the order and which network your wallet is set to display. If you choose Ethereum mainnet and then look at your wallet on Base, the balance will seem missing even though the coins arrived correctly.
A quick note on ERC20: ERC20 is the token standard on Ethereum, used by tokens such as USDT and USDC. ETH itself is the native coin, not an ERC20 token, so you do not need to choose any token contract when receiving it.
Step-by-step: BTC to ETH on ThinSwap
- Choose the pair. Select BTC as the coin you send and ETH as the coin you receive.
- Enter the amount. The quote shows how much ETH you will get, with the 0.4% service fee and the network fee for sending you ETH already deducted.
- Paste your ETH address. Copy it straight from your wallet and compare the first and last few characters after pasting. You can also add an optional BTC refund address and an email or Telegram contact.
- Create the order. You get a Bitcoin deposit address and an exact amount of BTC. The rate is fixed for 30 minutes from this moment.
- Send exactly that amount. Include every decimal. The decimals are how your deposit is matched to your order. If your exchange deducts a withdrawal fee, add it on top so the exact amount arrives.
- Follow the order page. Keep the order ID. The status moves through Deposit, Confirming, Sending and Completed, and our outgoing transaction hash appears when ETH is sent.
If you have never moved bitcoin before, read how to send Bitcoin safely first. It covers fee selection, address checks and test transactions.
What you actually receive
The formula is straightforward: the BTC amount converted at the fixed rate, minus the 0.4% service fee, minus a small network fee for the ETH transaction we send you. Both deductions are already included in the quote, so the figure you see before confirming is the figure you should expect. There is no extra charge added later.
The one cost that sits outside the quote is the fee you pay to the Bitcoin network when you send your deposit. Your wallet sets that, usually based on how busy the mempool is.
How long a BTC to ETH swap takes
The whole swap usually takes 5–30 minutes. The slow part is almost always the Bitcoin side. Bitcoin produces a block roughly every 10 minutes on average, and that is only an average: sometimes blocks come in quick succession, sometimes there is a long gap.
- ThinSwap sees your transaction in the mempool first, and the order shows Confirming.
- Once it has 1 block confirmation, the deposit counts as received and the ETH is sent.
- Ethereum is quick by comparison, with 12-second slots, so the ETH usually lands within a minute or two after it is sent.
If you set a very low fee on your Bitcoin transaction, it can wait in the mempool for a long time. Many wallets support Replace-By-Fee (RBF), which lets you bump the fee on a stuck transaction.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Sending a rounded amount
Sending 0.01 BTC when the order asks for 0.0100347 BTC makes matching harder. Copy the exact figure.
Forgetting the withdrawal fee
Many exchanges subtract their fee from the amount you type. Check what will actually arrive and adjust.
Wrong network on the receiving side
Confirm that the order says Ethereum mainnet (or the layer-2 you deliberately chose) and look at the same network in your wallet.
Letting the rate expire
Send within 30 minutes. If you sent but the rate expired before the deposit was detected, the team reviews the order manually and either sends at the current rate or refunds you.
Ignoring irreversibility
Blockchain transfers cannot be undone. Funds go to the address you provide, so a typo in that address cannot be fixed afterwards.
Going the other way
To move back, use the ETH to BTC pair. The steps are the same, the deposit is on Ethereum, and your BTC address can be bc1, 3 or 1. For more on each coin, see the swap BTC and swap ETH pages.
Planning a trip? You can rent a luxury car in Dubai and pay with crypto, including the ETH you just received.
Frequently asked questions
Can I receive ETH on Arbitrum or Base instead of Ethereum mainnet?
Yes, ThinSwap supports ETH on Arbitrum and Base as well. Choose that network in the order and check the same network in your wallet, because all three use the same 0x address format.
Why is my BTC to ETH order still showing Confirming?
Your Bitcoin transaction has been seen but is waiting for its first block confirmation. Blocks average about 10 minutes, and a low fee can make it wait longer.
Is the network fee charged on top of the quote?
No. The 0.4% service fee and the network fee for sending you ETH are already deducted in the quote you see before confirming. Only your own Bitcoin sending fee is set separately by your wallet.