What is a pair on ChangeNOW and why can't I swap any coin to any coin?

A pair is the combination of the coin you send and the coin you receive (for example, BTC to ETH). ChangeNOW routes swaps through liquidity partners, and not every possible combination has active liquidity, especially for small or exotic tokens. When a direct pair is unavailable, the platform can route through an intermediate asset. If no route exists, you'll see an error or a suggestion to use a more liquid pair. For stablecoin and major-asset pairs, routing is almost always available.

The asset list spans major networks — Bitcoin, Ethereum (ERC-20), Tron (TRC-20), BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20), Solana, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, TON — plus popular stablecoins such as USDT, USDC, and DAI on multiple chains. The full list on the official site is updated continuously and searchable per asset.

Network matching is the single most common source of lost funds: the receiving address must be on the same network as the token you are receiving. Sending USDT-TRC20 to an Ethereum address, for example, will lose the funds, so always verify both the asset and the network before confirming a swap.

Bottom line

A pair is the combination of the coin you send and the coin you receive (for example, BTC to ETH). For the full picture, see the complete ChangeNOW FAQ covering fees, KYC, limits, refunds, supported coins, and more.