Build vs SwapKit

Build vs. Integrate with SwapKit

How to decide between building your own cross-chain swap system and using SwapKit’s SDK.

The Core Question

Every wallet, custodian, or DEX aggregator eventually faces the same decision:

“Should we build our own cross-chain swap logic, or integrate a ready SDK like SwapKit?”

Let’s break down what each approach really involves — in time, cost, reliability, and scope.

Building Cross-Chain Swaps In-House

What You’ll Need to Build

Blockchain integrations: RPC connections, gas estimation, fee handling for each chain.
Liquidity provider logic: connection to THORChain, Maya, Chainflip, and NEAR APIs (each with its own quirks).
Routing & quoting: price discovery, fallback logic, and route optimization.
Transaction management: inbound/outbound monitoring, refunds, retries, error handling.
Security & monitoring: uptime alerts, swap failure detection, version updates per provider.
Compliance: KYT/KYC routing for custodial or regulated entities.

What It Costs

Cost Type	Est. Effort
Initial engineering	2–4 full-time engineers, 3–6 months
Maintenance	Ongoing updates as providers change APIs
Uptime coverage	24/7 monitoring across 4+ networks
QA & testing	Continuous due to multi-chain volatility

Even well-funded teams underestimate the long-term cost of maintaining integrations — especially when providers change liquidity logic, chain IDs, or fee models.

Integrating with SwapKit

What You Get

Unified SDK & API → access to all major cross-chain providers (THORChain, Maya, Chainflip, NEAR Intents).
Best route selection → quotes ranked by execution quality, fees, and success rate.
Native BTC support → real Bitcoin swaps across multiple protocols.
Destination gas abstraction → no need for users to pre-fund destination gas.
Failover redundancy → automatic fallback if a provider goes offline.
Enterprise-ready infra → already powering swaps in Ledger, Trust Wallet, and other leading wallets.

Example: Swap BTC → ETH

import { SwapKitApi } from "@swapkit/sdk";

const quote = await SwapKitApi.getSwapQuote({
  sellAsset: "BTC.BTC",
  buyAsset: "ETH.ETH",
  sellAmount: "0.05",
});

console.log(quote.data.routes[0]);

Within one SDK, you get production-ready routing across THORChain, Maya, Chainflip, and NEAR Intents — with fallback, slippage handling, and error recovery built in.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Category	Build In-House	Integrate SwapKit
Time to market	3–6 months	< 1 week
Providers supported	1–2 (manual)	4+ (THORChain, Maya, Chainflip, NEAR)
Native BTC support	Custom work per chain	Built-in
Destination gas abstraction	Requires custom logic	Included
Maintenance cost	High	Minimal
Routing redundancy	Manual setup	Automatic
Reliability	Depends on internal infra	Production-tested
Future provider additions	Requires dev time	Included automatically

Real-World Impact

SwapKit abstracts the complexity of cross-chain liquidity so your team can focus on product differentiation, not plumbing.

Whether you’re a wallet aiming to support native BTC swaps or a custodian offering multi-chain settlement, SwapKit saves months of engineering time and ensures better uptime through provider redundancy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What if I want control over the routing logic?

SwapKit exposes granular control — you can specify which providers or assets to prioritize, or even run your own routing logic on top of it.

Q: Is SwapKit open-source?

Yes. SwapKit’s SDK and toolboxes are open-source and available on GitHub.

Q: Can I integrate SwapKit alongside my existing aggregator?

Yes. Many partners use SwapKit to handle cross-chain routes while keeping their own internal single-chain swap logic.