What actually happens between your click and tokens in your wallet. Worth two minutes — knowing the pipeline makes the settings and the failure modes obvious.
The four phases
1. Request
You click Buy/Sell. The request captures your intent — token, amount, and your transaction settings (slippage cap, priority fee, MEV mode).
2. Quote
Your trade is priced against live liquidity: expected output, price impact, routing. What you see on the review screen is this quote. Your approval signs it with session-scoped permissions — authorizing this trade, not open-ended control of your wallet.
3. Checks
Before broadcast, the trade passes risk checks: the quote is still valid within your slippage cap, the route is still live, token-level red flags (honeypot patterns, transfer restrictions) haven’t tripped. A trade that fails checks reverts here — costing you nothing but a retry.
4. Execution
The transaction is built with your priority fee and MEV routing applied, and lands on-chain. Confirmation shows the moment the trade is final — the position appears in your Portfolio as soon as it’s real.
Trading across chains
Trades execute on the token’s chain, from that chain’s USDC balance. When your funds sit on the other chain, the built-in bridge moves USDC over in one click (0.50%, min $0.50 — see Fees & Tiers); the bridge leg adds the destination chain’s confirmation time. Details: USDC Balance & Bridge.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if my trade fails the checks phase?
It reverts before broadcast and costs you nothing but a retry. Checks catch an expired quote, a dead route, or token-level red flags such as honeypot patterns and transfer restrictions.
Does approving a trade give Trady control of my wallet?
No. Approval signs that specific trade with session-scoped permissions — it authorizes the transaction in front of you, not open-ended control of your wallet.
Why did my transaction revert without spending anything?
A revert during the checks phase means the trade never reached the chain. The most common cause is the quote moving outside your slippage cap between review and broadcast. See Failed Transactions.
How long does a trade take when my funds are on the other chain?
The trade executes on the token’s chain, so moving value from the other chain adds that chain’s confirmation time before the trade can land. Costs and mechanics: USDC Balance & Bridge. Last modified on August 4, 2026
