The cryptocurrency market has seen a surge in the use of 'instant' exchange services, which claim to enable fast and seamless transactions between different assets. However, a closer look at these services reveals that the speed of transactions is not entirely under the control of the exchange itself.
There are two main types of 'instant' exchanges: those that hold inventory of both input and output assets and allow for sub-second trading (pre-funded liquidity), and those that route trades through a market maker or DEX aggregator, which can lead to longer wait times due to network congestion (pass-through routing).
When evaluating the performance of an 'instant' exchange, it's essential to consider not only the advertised fees but also the all-in net rate, including network costs and any applicable spreads. The article provides a detailed breakdown of how to compare different exchanges and identify those that offer genuinely fast and efficient transactions.