What Is a Mainnet Swap?

Mainnet swap is the migration of a cryptocurrency project from a third-party blockchain network, such as Ethereum, to its native blockchain network.

A third-party blockchain network is used when a cryptocurrency project is in its testnet phase. But once it moves from the testnet phase to the mainnet phase, users receive native cryptocurrency in exchange for their third-party tokens. That’s why it is also called token migration or token swap. At its core, the mainnet swap is the exchange of third-party tokens with the platform’s native cryptocurrency.

Better Understand Mainnet Swap

Since 2017, ELF has been held as an Ethereum based #ERC-20 token. After spending considerable time testing the security and reliability of its platform, they announced the mainnet swap on September 9, 2021. Typically, the mainnet swap follows a 1:1 ratio. Once it is completed on the entire blockchain, the remaining tokens are burned.

Another example of a mainnet swap is #BNB (Binance Coin). When Binance Chain was in its testnet phase, it was using the Ethereum based ERC-20 BNB token. However, after the mainnet launch, #ERC-20 BNB token holders were encouraged to migrate to the BEP2 BNB coin (the native coin of Binance). This swap occurred at a 1:1 ratio, meaning 1 #BEP2 #0000000d BNB coin equaled 1 ERC-20 #BNB.

When Does Mainnet Swap Occur?

Typically, a mainnet swap occurs when a cryptocurrency project moves from one blockchain to another or migrates its tokens from a third-party blockchain to its native chain. However, the mainnet swap isn’t associated exclusively with new blockchains. A project may announce it if it decides to move from one protocol to another. One example would be the migration of tokens from Bitcoin-based protocol to Ethereum network.

When it comes to the specifics of a mainnet swap’s execution, it varies from project to project. The majority of projects give a deadline to users for the migration of tokens. Failing to do so means you will end up losing access to your tokens as they’re usually burned after the given deadline