How to Swap BTC to Stablecoins natively
Exit native Bitcoin to USDC or USDT on the chain of your choice. No WBTC mint, no Coinbase, no Binance. One BTC send, native settlement both sides.
Why exit BTC to stables on THORChain
The traditional path is to send BTC to a centralized exchange, sell to USDC or USDT, and withdraw to a wallet. That is three custodial steps: deposit, sale, withdrawal. THORChain compresses the same economic move into one signed BTC transaction, with native settlement on both sides and no operator in the middle.
- Non-custodial exit — your BTC is never held by a company during the swap.
- No KYC and no withdrawal queue — there is no operator to gatekeep the move.
- Any chain the pool supports — pick the stablecoin variant that matches where you want the stables to land.
- No WBTC mint — your BTC stays native; the stable is native on its own chain. No wrapper is constructed or destroyed.
Step-by-step: BTC to stablecoins
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Pick the stablecoin and the destination chain
USDC and USDT exist on several chains. Pick the variant that matches where you want the stables to land — Ethereum USDC for an ETH wallet, Base or Arbitrum USDC for the L2 that matches your downstream use. The swap interface shows every supported variant and its pool depth.
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Open the BTC → stablecoin swap page
Open the cross-chain swap interface for BTC → USDC (or your chosen stable). deving.zone pulls the live THORChain quote: expected output, protocol fee, outbound miner fee on the destination chain, and slippage estimate.
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Paste your destination address
Enter the address on the stablecoin chain. For Ethereum USDC, that is a 0x address; for other chains, use the native format. Double-check the first and last four characters — outbound transactions are not reversible.
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Review the quote one more time
Sanity-check the expected USDC output, the protocol swap fee, the outbound miner fee on the destination chain (paid in the destination asset), and the slippage. If the number looks wrong, cancel — the only transaction you sign is the BTC send.
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Sign and broadcast the BTC send
Your Bitcoin wallet builds a single BTC send to the THORChain inbound address, with the swap memo in OP_RETURN. That is the only transaction you sign. No WBTC is minted at any point.
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Receive stablecoins at the destination
THORChain waits for BTC confirmations, routes BTC → RUNE → stablecoin, and broadcasts the outbound transaction on the destination chain. Typical end-to-end time is 15–25 minutes, dominated by Bitcoin block time and the outbound miner fee environment.
Alternative: borrow stables against BTC instead of selling
Swapping BTC to stables realises the move — you no longer hold BTC. If you want stablecoin liquidity but want to keep BTC exposure, Rujira Money Market lets you post native BTC as collateral and borrow stables against it. The BTC stays as a native-settlement position; you repay any time to unlock it.
BTC → stablecoin swap questions
Is my BTC wrapped to WBTC at any point?
No. BTC leaves your Bitcoin wallet as native BTC and lands in a THORChain vault on the Bitcoin chain. The stablecoin you receive is the real ERC-20 (or equivalent) on its native chain — not a wrapped derivative. There is no WBTC, no renBTC, and no bridge in the settlement path.
Which stablecoin should I pick — USDC or USDT?
Pick the one whose chain matches your downstream use. If you want to hold in a software wallet on Ethereum, pick Ethereum USDC. If you are parking on an L2 to minimise gas, pick Base or Arbitrum USDC if THORChain supports that variant. Deepest pool means least slippage on the swap.
Why not just send BTC to a CEX and sell?
You can, but it is custodial: the exchange holds your BTC until the sale clears, KYC applies, withdrawal timing is at their discretion, and you are trusting their solvency for the duration. THORChain clears the same economic move on-chain in one signed BTC transaction with no operator in the middle.
How much slippage should I expect on a large BTC → USDC swap?
Slippage is proportional to swap size relative to the combined depth of the BTC pool and the destination stablecoin pool. Under $10k typically sees negligible slippage; six-figure swaps can see 1–3% depending on pool state. Always preview the exact figure in the swap interface; split large swaps into tranches if the quoted slippage is uncomfortable.
What fees do I pay in total?
Three components: the THORChain protocol swap fee (roughly 0.3%, pool- and size-dependent), the outbound miner fee on the destination chain (paid in the destination asset, e.g. ETH for Ethereum USDC), and slippage. There is no deposit fee, no withdrawal fee, and no market-maker spread tax.
Can I swap back from stablecoins to BTC?
Yes — the same pools run both directions. Connect a wallet on the stablecoin chain, select the stable as the sell asset and BTC as the buy asset, paste your Bitcoin destination, sign, and wait. End-to-end time is similar, dominated by the outbound Bitcoin confirmation.