QuickStart
ParaSwap is a middleware streamlining user's interactions with various DeFi services. It pools liquidity from the main decentralized exchanges together in a convenient interface abstracting most of the swaps' complexity to make it convenient and accessible for end-users.
While initializing a wallet, make sure to properly set up and back up your recovery mechanism (such as the seed phrase).
Ethereum's DeFi operates in a permissionless manner: there are no checks required to use a given DeFi service. All you need to get aboard is a wallet - used to store and secure your assets:
​🦊 MetaMask is the most commonly used wallet to interact with DeFi services.
With a wallet secured, you have everything you need to interact with ParaSwap and any other decentralized finance services.
ParaSwap facilitates the exchange of Ethereum tokens, abstracting most of the complexity now required to conduct trades at the best market rates.
ParaSwap abstracts the complexity of comparing prices (factoring gas costs and other variables) for you — so you can focus on your trading strategy or learning more about the fundamentals of the space.
To better understand the advantages of using ParaSwap over interacting with a decentralized exchange directly, check the dedicated page:
For the users, the swapping path is always the same: you input your two tokens & ParaSwap figures out the rest:
If you're swapping tokens to send to somewhere else, consider swap & transfer. It's exactly the same as the previous simple swap, except this time the tokens obtained are sent to another address.
Using Swap & Transfer, you can execute two distinct operations in a single transaction, helping to reduce your effective gas costs.
Now that you have an understanding of the main features and benefits offered by ParaSwap, this last section provides inspiration to envision what you can do to best harness its potential:
Let's start with the easiest to understand: large orders, aka ParaSwap's reason to be. Thanks to the capacity to split orders into several decentralized exchanges, ParaSwap's is often the most effective solution for orders >25 ETH.
MultiPath increased the efficiency of ParaSwap even more while enabling new use cases. It helps to streamline a series of transactions involving interactions with several DeFi protocol. You can now interact with smart contracts such as Aave's or Compound's deposit contract, directly from ParaSwap. It enables interesting opportunities such as direct and efficient collateral swaps between the two, such as a cDAI -> aDAI swap.
If you need to make a payment in a currency you do not own, you can use ParaSwap to avoid any unnecessary extra steps. You can pay them from any of the tokens you own with Swap & Transfer & ParaSwap handles sending them for you - make sure to double-check the destination address!
To easily follow the price action on your favorite tokens, ParaSwap provides a price alerting feature. To activate it, simply click 🔔 Price Alerts in the main menu.
It opens up a prompt to create an alert on the pair you are currently viewing. You can receive the notifications either directly in your browser or the email address of your choice.
Finally, if you find yourself checking ParaSwap obsessively, consider enabling the Dark Mode. You'll find the option by opening up the ☰ Hamburger menu at the top-right of the page.
