Swap BTC to ZEC: no KYC, no sign-up, decentralized
Get Zcash with your bitcoin without opening an exchange account. Your BTC leaves your own wallet, native ZEC arrives at your own Zcash address, and there is no sign-up, no ID check and no custodian holding your funds in between.
- No KYC
- Non-custodial
- Cross-chain
- Native assets
BTC to ZEC is how bitcoin holders buy Zcash. Fewer exchanges list ZEC than before, so buying it often means hunting for a platform that still offers it, opening an account there and withdrawing afterwards. This swap skips the hunt: you pay with BTC from your own wallet and receive ZEC in a Zcash wallet you control, where it stays yours whatever any exchange decides to list.
How to swap BTC to ZEC
- 1
Set up a Zcash wallet you control and copy the address it shows for receiving ZEC. Receiving costs you nothing on the Zcash side: you do not need to hold any ZEC beforehand.
- 2
Enter how much BTC you want to spend. The widget sets the Bitcoin network fee and shows the expected ZEC, the cost and the estimated time before you sign.
- 3
Connect the wallet that holds your BTC and paste your Zcash address as the destination. The Bitcoin transaction is prepared for you.
- 4
Confirm in your wallet. The swap waits for Bitcoin to confirm your transaction, roughly one block of about ten minutes; after that the ZEC is sent to your address, and Zcash produces a block roughly every seventy-five seconds.
Why swap BTC to ZEC this way
No KYC, no account
There is nothing to sign up for: no account, no email and no identity check. You swap straight from your own wallet. Like every on-chain transaction, it is public on the blockchain.
Decentralized and non-custodial
Your funds never sit with RUNEBond or with an exchange. You sign the transaction in your own wallet and the ZEC arrives straight at your address.
Cross-chain with native assets
Real BTC on Bitcoin in, real ZEC on Zcash out. No wrapped tokens and no IOUs: you receive the native coin in your own wallet.
Track every step
From the moment you confirm, you see where your swap is: BTC sent, confirmed, swap in progress, ZEC delivered. No guessing.
Before you swap
Price on large amounts
Large swaps can get a slightly worse price and take longer than small ones. The widget shows the expected price impact and time before you confirm.
Refunds
If a swap cannot be completed, the BTC is refunded to the address it came from, minus network fees. Send from a wallet you control, never from an exchange.
Wrong destination address
The ZEC goes to the address you enter, and it must be a Zcash address. Blockchain transactions cannot be reversed: check the address before you confirm.
Confirmation time
The swap starts once Bitcoin confirms your transaction, so the total time depends on that network. The widget shows the estimate for your amount.
About Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin is the first and largest cryptocurrency: a fixed-supply digital asset secured by proof-of-work mining. It lives on its own chain, and most ways of using it elsewhere mean handing it to a custodian or wrapping it into a token on another network.
A native cross-chain swap skips both. The BTC leaves your own wallet on the Bitcoin network and the coin you want arrives in your wallet on its own chain, with no exchange account and no wrapped token in between.
- Send from a wallet you control, not from an exchange withdrawal: if the swap is refunded, the BTC goes back to the address it came from.
- Bitcoin network fees move with demand. The widget sets the fee for you; a fee set too low can delay the confirmation the swap waits for.
About Zcash (ZEC)
Zcash (ZEC) is a cryptocurrency launched in 2016 and built from Bitcoin’s code, with the same fixed supply of 21 million coins. What sets it apart is the shielded transaction: using zero-knowledge proofs, it can be verified as valid without showing the sender, the receiver or the amount. Transparent Zcash transactions work like Bitcoin ones, with everything visible on-chain.
ZEC lives on its own chain, and several exchanges have stopped listing it over the years. A native cross-chain swap moves it in or out from your own wallet, with no exchange account and no wrapped token in between.
- A Zcash wallet can hold a transparent balance and a shielded one, and funds can move between them. Check that the ZEC you plan to swap sits in a balance your wallet can send from before you start.
- Send from a wallet you control, not from an exchange withdrawal: if the swap is refunded, the ZEC goes back to the address it came from.
- Receive ZEC on the Zcash network itself. A ZEC token issued on another network is not the same destination.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a BTC to ZEC swap take?
Bitcoin produces a block roughly every ten minutes, so a swap from BTC starts once your transaction has at least one confirmation. Larger amounts can wait for a few more. Zcash produces a block roughly every seventy-five seconds, so a swap from ZEC starts shortly after your transaction is confirmed, and ZEC sent to you shows up soon after the swap completes. The widget shows the estimated total time for your amount before you confirm.
What address do I need to receive ZEC?
A Zcash address in a wallet you control. An address from another network will not work.
Can I buy ZEC without an exchange account?
Yes. You pay with BTC from your own wallet, with no account, no email and no identity check, and the ZEC goes straight to your Zcash wallet. That matters for a coin fewer exchanges list: you do not depend on a platform that may stop offering it.
Do I need some ZEC already to receive it?
No. Receiving ZEC only takes a Zcash address in a wallet you control. The cost of delivering the ZEC to you is included in what the widget shows before you confirm, so you pay everything from the BTC side.
Is buying ZEC this way anonymous?
No. No KYC means no account, not anonymity. The BTC you send is visible on the Bitcoin network like every Bitcoin transaction, and both sides of the swap are public on their blockchains.
Once my BTC confirms, how long until I see the ZEC?
Not long. The slow part is waiting for the Bitcoin confirmation; Zcash produces a block roughly every seventy-five seconds, so the ZEC shows up and confirms soon after it is sent. The swap status stays live in the widget throughout.
Can I have the ZEC sent to an exchange deposit address?
Avoid it. An exchange that has stopped supporting ZEC may not credit a deposit, and coins in an exchange account are not in your custody. Receive the ZEC in your own Zcash wallet; RUNEBond never takes custody of funds, and if the swap cannot complete, the BTC is refunded, minus network fees, to the address it came from.
Related swaps
RUNEBond does not custody funds and does not provide financial advice. Facts on this page reviewed on October 3, 2026.