Relay on RAVN: Multi-Chain Relayer and Native BTC
Relay is RAVN's broad relayer rail. It shows up on native BTC pairs, Solana, EVM same-chain fallbacks, and cross-chain routes. Coverage first, then best execution decides.
Quick answer
Relay is a relayer network RAVN queries in parallel with other venues. It can price same-chain, cross-chain, cross-ecosystem, and native Bitcoin routes when Relay supports the pair. If Relay wins on best execution, you settle on Relay's rails. RAVN does not custody funds.
Where Relay sits in the router
- BTCRaced with Garden and NEAR Intents on native Bitcoin cross-chain routes.
- SOLSolana same-chain race with Jupiter Ultra, NEAR Intents, and Mayan.
- EVMSame-chain fallback when gasless RFQ venues cannot serve the pair; also EVM cross-chain and cross-ecosystem races.
On EVM same-chain, Relay is the universal fallback so a swap does not dead-end when 0x Gasless, Bebop, or CoW cannot cover a chain or pair. The SOR still prefers a competitive gasless quote when one exists.
Relay and native Bitcoin
Relay's public chain tables have lagged live support. In production, RAVN treats Relay as a real BTC venue: Bitcoin has a Relay chain id and currency sentinel, and BTC routes quote and fill through the adapter.
Next to Garden:
- Garden is firm HTLC solver pricing on pairs it serves, with known blacklists (for example some Base USDC and Monad BTC corridors).
- Relay often covers pairs Garden declines and has different latency by leg.
- Racing both means one venue dropping out narrows the field instead of ending the quote.
How declines work
Relay can answer with structured decline codes such as no swap routes, no quotes, amount too low, insufficient liquidity, route temporarily unavailable, or unsupported route. RAVN treats those as normal race exits, not product outages. Other errors stay loud so real integration breaks surface.
What you do when Relay wins
Execution is typically a TRANSACTION: sign and broadcast the payload Relay returns for the winning path. Destination addresses must be valid for the destination chain. For Bitcoin destinations, RAVN requires a real user address at execution time even if a dry quote used a format placeholder to price.
What RAVN adds
- Parallel competition against Garden, NEAR Intents, RFQ venues, Across, Mayan, and Jupiter depending on route type.
- Net-of-gas ranking so a cheap-looking Relay path still loses if another quote keeps more after costs.
- One normalized API for integrators instead of Relay-only integration.
Try it in the app
Live in beta. Parallel venues, best execution, canonical assets. RAVN never holds your funds.
FAQ
Is Relay only for bridging?
No. On RAVN, Relay participates in same-chain, cross-chain, cross-ecosystem, and native BTC races when eligible. It is a relayer network used as one competing venue.
Why is Relay on EVM same-chain if RFQ is gasless?
Gasless RFQ venues do not cover every chain or pair. Relay is the fallback so those swaps still quote. Competitive gasless quotes still win when they beat the floor.
Does Relay wrap BTC?
RAVN selects for the destination asset you chose. Native BTC routes aim for canonical settlement, not a forced wrap hop as the product default.
Does RAVN hold funds on a Relay route?
No. Settlement is on Relay infrastructure. RAVN never holds user funds.
