How to Fix Failed Cross-Chain Swaps: Common Errors and Solutions

Cross-chain swaps are multi-step processes: source swap → bridge transfer → destination swap. A failure at any step can stall the entire process. Common failure points: (1) Source chain transaction reverts (slippage, gas, contract error). (2) Bridge transfer times out or encounters network issues. (3) Destination chain transaction fails (wrong network, insufficient gas).

The good news: most failed swaps are recoverable. Your funds are typically returned to the source chain (minus gas fees) when a cross-chain swap fails. AEXI tracks the status of every swap and shows you the current stage.

This is the most common failure: you receive tokens on the destination chain but cannot swap them because you have no native token for gas. For example: bridge USDC from Ethereum to Polygon, but you need POL for gas on Polygon to swap the USDC.

Solution: always keep a small amount of native token on the destination chain (ETH on Arbitrum/Base/Optimism, BNB on BSC, MATIC on Polygon, SOL on Solana). AEXI's destination gas guide explains how much you need for each network. Some routes include gas estimation in the quote.

Cross-chain swap quotes expire after a set period (typically 2–10 minutes) because prices change. If you wait too long to confirm, the quote may expire and the swap will fail. Always confirm promptly after receiving a quote.

If a swap fails due to an expired quote, simply start a new swap. Your funds are not at risk — they remain in your wallet (minus the gas fee for the failed source transaction). On AEXI, the interface will prompt you to retry with a fresh quote.

If your swap appears stuck (pending for more than 10 minutes): (1) Check the swap status on AEXI's request page (/request). (2) If the source transaction confirmed but the bridge is pending, wait — bridge transfers can take 5–30 minutes. (3) If the swap has been pending for over an hour, contact support with your transaction hash.

Prevention: (1) Use appropriate slippage tolerance (0.5–1% for most pairs). (2) Ensure sufficient gas on both source and destination chains. (3) Confirm swaps promptly after receiving quotes. (4) Use AEXI's swap tracking to monitor progress in real time.