What is destination-oriented crypto swapping?
Most users don't think in terms of pairs — they think in terms of destinations. "I want USDT" is a complete sentence. "I want USDT/USDC swapped" is a specification a trader writes after they've already chosen. The destination-first flow respects how non-experts actually decide: pick what you want, let the routing pick the source.
AllSwap's /swap surface is built for this. The 16 supported destinations are the cryptos most users actively want to hold — stablecoins for spending, majors for long-term, single-chain natives for ecosystem-specific use. For each, AllSwap finds the cheapest source path from your holdings across 33 chains. The output is a quote in destination units, not a ratio. Same protocol, different mental model.
How to choose your destination crypto
Three questions answer most destination choices. First — what are you doing with it? Spending or transferring → stablecoin (USDT/USDC). Holding long-term → BTC or ETH. Specific chain action (DeFi, NFT) → that chain's native gas token. Second — which network? For stablecoins, the network matters more than the issuer: TRC-20 for low-cost transfers, ERC-20 for DeFi, Solana SPL for speed. Third — what's your timeline? Short hold tolerates volatility less, suggesting stablecoin or BTC.
The decision-helper above lays out eight common scenarios with honest trade-offs. We don't optimize destination picks for our own fees — the 0.5% AllSwap take is the same regardless of which destination you pick, so we have no incentive to push you toward more expensive routes. The goal is to give you the framework an experienced crypto user would use: define the purpose, then the network, then the asset.
What determines the cost of buying a destination crypto
Four cost layers stack into every destination swap. First — source-network gas (paying to broadcast on the chain you send from). Second — cross-chain market-maker spread (the bidder's margin for taking on the bridging risk). Third — destination-network gas (broadcasting on the receive chain). Fourth — AllSwap's 0.5% application fee. The live matrix shows the all-in result, not just the spread.
Cost differs enormously by destination network. The same 100 USDT might buy 99.40 USDT-TRC20 (60¢ total cost) but only 96.50 USDT-ERC20 ($3.50 in Ethereum gas alone). For small destination amounts, network choice dominates total cost. For large amounts, the cross-chain spread starts to matter more. Use the matrix to compare actual outcomes before deciding — the headline rate is misleading without all four cost layers included.