Atomic Swaps between Bitcoin and Monero

Abstract

Due to the evergrowing blockchain ecosystem, interoperability has become a matter of great importance. Atomic swaps allow connecting otherwise isolated blockchains while adhering to the core principles of censorship resistance and permissionlessnes. Up until recently, atomic swap protocols have mostly relied on complex script support, excluding certain types of blockchains. With advances in cryptography, it is now possible to build a bridge between almost any two blockchains. In this work, we give an explanation of one such protocol which applies adaptor signatures on Bitcoin to procure atomic swaps between Monero and Bitcoin. We dive into the cryptographic details, discuss its limitations and give an outlook on our current work where we use adaptor signatures on the Monero signature scheme.