Term
Slippage
Slippage in a crypto swap is the difference between the quoted rate at the moment you start the swap and the effective rate at which the swap actually executes, driven by price movement and provider spread during the intervening time.
Slippage is the gap between the rate you were quoted when you started a swap and the rate you actually get at execution. It exists because time passes between "click swap" and "funds arrive" — enough time for prices to move, and enough time for the executing provider to re-price the leg based on their own risk.
There are two ways aggregators handle slippage. Floating rate: the quote is indicative; you get the market rate at execution, which might be better or worse than the initial quote. Fixed rate: the quote is locked; the provider commits to that rate for a short window (typically 5-30 minutes), often at a small premium to compensate for the risk of the market moving against them.
Floating usually wins on typical retail swaps: the median outcome is very close to the initial quote, and you avoid paying the fixed-rate premium. Fixed wins when you need exact-cost certainty (matching an invoice, budgeting a large transfer) or when you cannot deposit within a fixed short window and you know prices could move meaningfully.
Larger swaps see more slippage because they exhaust the top of the order book at each provider — the effective rate is worse than the quoted rate on paper. Splitting a large swap into smaller orders can reduce this effect.
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