COMIT is a protocol that has been in development since the beginning of 2021 with the aim of achieving exchanges between bitcoin (BTC) and monero (XMR) in a decentralized way. In May it became known that they were already available on the main network, and only now are some users who are beginning to work with this type of exchange system to be known.
One of the first to break the news was the blogger known on Twitter as Seth (@SethForPivacy), announcing that he had made his first exchanges from BTC to XMR, the first attempt of which took 34 minutes to complete. In addition, Monero’s official Twitter account echoed the announcement posting that atomic swaps were already “alive” on the Bitcoin mainnet.
Something important for this type of platform to work is liquidity, which is provided directly by the users who use it. In this case, Seth announced that he has become the default provider for UnstoppableSwap, a web portal that offers a graphical interface that uses the COMIT protocol for underwater exchanges.
UnstoppablesSwap.net offers a more intuitive way to trade between bitcoin and monero. Source: UnstoppablesSwap.com.
Due to the very limitations of the protocol today, Exchanges only take place in one way: BTC to XMR. However, users can become XMR providers, as is the case with Seth, allowing them to sell XMR for BTC.
On his personal blog, Seth offers a series of guides on how to use COMIT and UnstoppableSwap, both to exchange BTC and to become a liquidity provider.
Atomic Swap, a revolution in anonymous exchanges
This event marks a milestone in terms of exchanges between cryptocurrencies, since they do not need a platform to operate. COMIT, making use of HTLC signatures, which allow the creation of conditional transactions (if a certain condition is not met, the funds are not released) has made this first exchange possible, without intermediaries, between bitcoin and monero.
The challenge of the project was that Monero within its protocol it did not work with the HTCL firms. To do this, COMIT developed an algorithm that serves as an interpreter, bringing this type of signature, typical of Bitcoin, to the Monero network.
Since February, when the first whitepaper was released, CriptoNoticias has followed up on the project. This, since the first exchanges were known on the testnet in March of this year.