To swap BTC to ETH without an exchange account, use a cross-chain swap that supports the Bitcoin network: choose BTC on Bitcoin as “from”, ETH on Ethereum or a layer 2 as “to”, enter your Ethereum address, review the quote and send the BTC as instructed. If you hold wrapped BTC (WBTC or cbBTC) on an EVM network, the swap to ETH is a normal DEX trade that settles in seconds.
Key Takeaways
- Native BTC to ETH: cross-chain route; time depends on Bitcoin confirmations.
- Wrapped BTC to ETH: same-network swap; seconds.
- Two addresses: a Bitcoin wallet to send from and an EVM address to receive.
- ETH to BTC: the same steps in reverse.
Native vs Wrapped Routes
| Route | You send | You receive | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTC → ETH (cross-chain) | BTC from a Bitcoin wallet | ETH on Ethereum or a layer 2 | ~10-60 min |
| WBTC → ETH | WBTC on Ethereum | ETH on Ethereum | Seconds |
| ETH → BTC (cross-chain) | ETH | BTC to a Bitcoin address | ~10-60 min |
| ETH → WBTC / cbBTC | ETH | Wrapped BTC on the same network | Seconds |
Step by Step: BTC to ETH
- Open the swap widget. From: BTC on Bitcoin. To: ETH on your chosen network.
- Enter the amount and your receiving EVM address.
- Review the quote: amount received, fees and estimated time.
- Send BTC from your Bitcoin wallet exactly as instructed.
- Track the status until ETH arrives.
Fees
You pay the Bitcoin network fee to send, provider fees in the route and the service fee shown in the widget. Bitcoin fees vary with mempool congestion; current rates are on mempool.space.
Related Swaps
Swapping stablecoins into bitcoin is covered in how to swap USDT to BTC, and ETH into stablecoins in how to swap ETH to USDT.
