The service uses hashed time-locked contracts and arrives about a week after Boltz suspended operations; access is invite-only for now
Blockstream announced on 17 August the beta launch of Blockstream Swaps, a trustless atomic swap service spanning the Bitcoin mainchain, the Lightning Network and the Liquid sidechain. Access is invite-only for now; Blockstream has not indicated a date for general availability.
The service is built on hashed time-locked contracts: each swap either completes in full or reverts, with no intermediary holding funds in transit. Blockstream stated it does not intend to replace other providers, describing Swaps as «a necessary addition to improve redundancy and resilience in the ecosystem». The company added that development was already under way before Boltz suspended operations, while acknowledging that the news created an internal sense of urgency.
With this beta, Blockstream completes the connection across all three Bitcoin layers: in December 2025 it had already released atomic swaps between Lightning and Liquid, but the mainchain link was missing. Blockstream develops and operates Liquid directly; its native asset LBTC is pegged to on-chain bitcoin.
The launch comes about a week after Boltz suspended its swap service indefinitely, citing AI-assisted attacks that iterated faster than the team could patch vulnerabilities. Boltz had not lost user funds, as it held none in custody.
