Legal

Risk disclosure

Swapping crypto, moving it between chains and using privacy tools carry real risk. You can lose all of the money you put in. This page lists the main risks so you can decide with open eyes.

Last updated: 2026-10-17

Software and smart-contract risk#

• Every swap runs through code you do not control: the routing protocols, bridges, solvers and exchanges behind the deposit address. Bugs, exploits and design flaws in any of them can lose funds, and one failure can cascade through a multi-leg route.
• ZeroFee’s own code has not been independently audited. It may contain errors that could lead to loss. See Security.
• Some features, such as the privacy steps (the Solana ZK pool, Zcash shielded and the Monero step), are new, and their behaviour can change.
• Open-source libraries we depend on can be compromised. A web app is only as trustworthy as the code it is serving at the moment you use it.

Bridge, solver and route-provider risk#

• Bridges and solvers hold your funds while a swap is in flight. If one is hacked, becomes insolvent, goes offline or is halted, a swap can be delayed, partly filled, refunded late or lost.
• A route can succeed on one chain and fail on the other. Refunds depend on the provider and on a correct refund address.
• Quotes are estimates and expire quickly. The price you get can differ from the one you saw, within your slippage limit. A tight limit can make a swap fail; a loose one can cost you.
• Providers can change prices, fees, limits and the chains or tokens they support at any time.
• This has happened. On 1 October 2026 NEAR Intents lost about $3.8M through a bug in its Omni deposit and withdrawal system, and paused deposits and withdrawals on 11 networks; it pledged to reimburse users, and the funds were returned the next day. In September 2026 Relay's API leaked pending orders to trading bots, which front-ran about 5,600 users; Relay compensated them. Sources and each provider's audits: Security.
• NEAR Intents' terms say it has no obligation to recover a transaction that failed because of your own mistake (a wrong coin, chain or amount), and it does not consider such requests under USD 300.

Exchange counterparty risk#

• In the Monero step, two instant exchanges, Exolix and ChangeNOW (one for each side, chosen per amount), each hold their leg of the swap for a few minutes. An exchange can apply compliance checks, delay or hold a transaction, ask for information, refuse an order or fail to pay out.
• Neither exchange publishes an independent audit or proof of reserves. Either can suspend, delay or freeze an order for a compliance review and ask where the funds came from. FixedFloat, which earlier orders could use, is no longer used for any new swap or payment.
• Exchanges have minimums, floating rates and rules that can change while you wait. Sending the wrong amount, coin, chain or memo, or sending after the deposit window closes, can lose the funds or delay a refund.
• We do not control exchanges and cannot make them release funds.

Privacy-limits risk#

• Privacy options reduce what some parties can see. They do not make a swap anonymous, untraceable or invisible, and we do not promise any outcome.
• Known weaknesses today: an observer may match a deposit to a payout by amount and timing; NEAR Intents and other providers see both sides of the leg they fill, each exchange in the Monero step sees one side, and NEAR’s confidential mode does not cover every pair (where it does not, a crossing is public); and what you do with the funds afterwards can reveal the link. Details: Privacy protocols.
• The Monero step adds legs. Each extra leg is another place a swap can stall, be refunded or be held by a third party, and the two exchanges each hold your coins for a few minutes.
• Providers' records can leak. In May 2026 a researcher reported that Exolix partner API keys exposed about 356,000 swap records (addresses, amounts and times). A leaked exchange record can link the two ends of a Monero step, whatever happens on-chain.
• Blockchain analysis improves over time. A transaction that looks private today may be linkable in the future.
• Using privacy features such as the Monero step can attract scrutiny from exchanges, service providers or authorities, and some may refuse funds that came through one.

Payment risk (pay links and exact-output payments)#

• ZeroFee is not a payment gateway. It never holds a payment and cannot confirm, refund, reverse or dispute one. Payments are carried out by Relay or NEAR Intents (whichever asks the payer for less), which holds the funds while the order fills.
• A payment can fail or be refunded: the price is held only briefly, so a deposit that arrives after the price has moved past the payer's slippage is returned to the payer's refund address and the merchant receives nothing for it. A NEAR Intents deposit address stays open about 72 hours; sending to any deposit address later, or sending the wrong token or network, can lose the funds.
• Small payments carry fixed costs: on 14 October 2026 a $25 payment measured 0.85–1.92% all-in on a NEAR Intents route, depending on the coin paid with, and 0.10–1.18% on the Relay routes checked. A NEAR Intents quote includes a small margin (about 0.5%), refunded to the payer if unused; a Relay route is exact, or refunded.
• A pay link is public to anyone who has it, can be paid more than once, and could be imitated by a lookalike page. Merchants should treat a payment as received only when it is at their own address.
• Rules for accepting crypto as payment, and its tax treatment, depend on where you are and what you sell. This is not legal or tax advice.

Launchpad and micro-cap token risk#

ZeroFee can route tokens from launchpads (such as pump.fun and bonk.fun) and other newly created coins whenever a DEX or aggregator lists them. A coin being routable says nothing about whether it is safe or worth anything.

• Rug pulls: creators or insiders can drain liquidity or dump their holdings, leaving a token worth little or nothing.
• Honeypots: a token you can buy but not sell, or can only sell under severe restrictions.
• Tax and fee-on-transfer tokens: a percentage of every trade is taken, so you receive less than the quote suggests, and some quotes cannot account for it.
• Extreme slippage and price impact: thin liquidity means your own trade moves the price, and prices can change violently between quote and fill.
• Powers held by the token’s creator: minting more supply, freezing balances or changing the rules after you buy.
• Lookalikes: fake tokens can copy a real token’s name, symbol or icon. Check the contract address or mint, not the ticker.
• Bots front-run and sandwich trades, particularly on popular new tokens.

Irreversibility and user error#

• Blockchain transactions are final. There is no chargeback, support desk or password reset that can undo one.
• A wrong address, chain, token, memo or amount, an unsupported token sent to a deposit address, or a deposit address you can no longer find because browser data was cleared (keep the swap’s tracking link) can mean permanent loss.
• A failed transaction still pays its network fee. Network congestion can delay or drop transactions.
• If a Monero step stops partway, your coins can sit at one of the two exchanges until it completes or refunds. Each exchange handles its own refund under its own rules, and the swap’s page shows where the coins are.
• A lookalike or compromised page, or malware that edits what you copy, can show you a deposit address that is not the protocol’s. Check the address on the swap’s page, and send a small test first for a larger amount. Anyone who can use your browser profile can also read a swap while it runs (finished swaps are erased; a stopped one is kept until you forget it, 30 days at most), though it holds no keys and cannot move funds.

Market risk#

Crypto prices are volatile and can fall to zero. Stablecoins can lose their peg, and their issuers may freeze addresses. Liquidity can disappear when you need it. Fees and spreads can be large on small amounts, especially on privacy routes, where fixed fees weigh heavily.

Regulatory and legal risk#

• Rules for crypto, privacy tools and cross-border transfers differ by country and change. Something lawful today may be restricted tomorrow.
• You are responsible for sanctions, tax and reporting obligations that apply to you. A swap may be a taxable event.
• Services we connect to may block users, regions or addresses, or may stop operating, without notice.
• Nothing here is legal or tax advice. Get your own advice if you are unsure.

By using ZeroFee you accept these risks as described in the Terms of use. How we handle data is in the Privacy policy.