Fixed vs. Floating Rate

Fixed-rate and floating-rate are the two ways a crypto swap can determine your final exchange rate: locked in advance, or determined at the moment your deposit is processed.

With a floating-rate swap, the rate you're quoted is an estimate. The actual rate applied is whatever the market shows when your deposit is received and processed by an exchange partner, which could be better or worse than the original quote depending on how the market has moved in the meantime — this is the mechanism behind slippage. With a fixed-rate swap, the quoted rate is locked for a limited window of time, typically around 10 to 15 minutes. As long as you send your deposit and it's received within that window, you get the exact rate you were quoted, regardless of what the market does in between.

The trade-off is straightforward: fixed-rate removes uncertainty but usually comes at a slightly less favorable starting rate than floating, since the exchange partner is taking on the risk of market movement during the lock period. Floating-rate can get you a better outcome in a calm or favorably-moving market, but leaves you exposed if the price swings against you before your deposit settles — which matters more for larger orders or during volatile periods.

On Zest, fixed-rate orders show a visible countdown timer on the order page, making the rate-lock window concrete rather than an abstract policy. If your deposit doesn't arrive before the countdown expires, the rate is no longer guaranteed and the order needs a fresh quote — so for fixed-rate swaps, it's worth having your funds ready to send before you start the order, not after. This is especially relevant for slower networks or if you're sending from a wallet that requires manual approval steps, where confirmation delays could eat into the window.

Choosing between the two comes down to what you're optimizing for. If certainty about your exact output amount matters more than squeezing out the best possible rate — say, you're budgeting a specific amount for a purchase — fixed-rate is the safer choice. If you're comfortable with some variance and are swapping during stable market conditions, floating-rate can work out slightly better on average. Neither choice affects the underlying spread built into the quote; that's present either way. For a full comparison with worked examples, see the fixed rate vs. floating rate guide.