Minswap
Minswap distinguishes the quoted output from the signed minimum, and canceling an unfilled order requires a separate transaction
Minswap shows an estimated output before a swap, while minimum received defines the lowest output you authorize under the selected route and slippage setting. Before signing, confirm that the input asset, output asset, amounts, route, price impact, and every listed cost match the swap you intend to make. After submission, don't treat wallet approval as a completed trade. Check the order state: an unfilled pending order can be canceled with a separate transaction and signature.
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Quoted output, minimum received, and total cost
The quoted output estimates what the selected route would return from the pool state available when the quote was calculated. Minimum received is the lower settlement boundary carried into the transaction. If the route can't deliver at least that amount, the order can't validly settle on those terms. A larger gap between the two figures accepts more adverse movement, while a narrower gap gives the order less room to execute after pool conditions change.
Read the quote as a group of related values. A route estimate can itemize liquidity-provider fees, DEX fees, an aggregator fee when applicable, price impact, and required ADA deposits. The transaction builder includes the Cardano network fee before the wallet asks you to sign. Compare the complete wallet debit with the expected final balances instead of treating the output estimate as the only cost figure. Fees and deposits serve different purposes, even when both appear as ADA amounts.
Wallet and asset prerequisites
To act on a quote, you need spendable input assets, enough ADA for the transaction, and a connected Cardano wallet that controls the selected inputs.
Match each native asset by its identifier, not only by a familiar ticker or logo. A displayed name can help with recognition, but the policy ID and asset name establish the asset on Cardano. Confirm that the wallet supplying the input is also the intended recipient unless the transaction explicitly shows another receiving address. If the balance barely covers the trade, leave room for the network fee and any ADA that the transaction must place in outputs.
What exactly does the signature authorize?
The signature authorizes the specific Cardano transaction displayed by the wallet. It covers defined inputs, outputs, scripts, amounts, and fees rather than granting the application permission to choose different terms later. Reject the request if the wallet prompt doesn't match the quote or shows an unfamiliar destination. A legitimate transaction signature never requires entering a seed phrase into the trading interface, and changing a material term requires building and signing another transaction.
Price impact and slippage set different boundaries
Price impact describes how the proposed trade itself changes the pool price. Slippage covers movement between the quote and execution, and the tolerance helps determine minimum received. These measures can appear together, but they answer different questions. Price impact asks how the trade size interacts with liquidity. Slippage asks how much deterioration the signed order permits before settlement becomes unacceptable.
A trade that is large relative to available pool liquidity generally has more price impact than a small trade against the same reserves. Multi-hop routing can also expose the quote to changes in more than one pool. Raising slippage tolerance doesn't create liquidity or improve the quoted rate. It only widens the range of outputs that the transaction may accept, so the new minimum deserves another review before signing.
The final check before signing
The wallet prompt is the last point where rejecting the transaction leaves the proposed swap entirely unsigned. Use the displayed values for one final check:
- Confirm the connected wallet and receiving address belong to the intended transaction.
- Match the input and output assets by their Cardano identifiers.
- Compare the expected output with the recorded minimum received.
- Review the route, price impact, fees, deposits, and total ADA movement.
- Reject any prompt whose inputs or outputs differ from the prepared swap.
If one line remains unclear, cancel the prompt and rebuild the quote after checking the asset and amount. Don't assume a later interface step will correct a signed value. Changing the input, route, or slippage setting should produce a fresh transaction for review. The new signature then applies to those revised terms instead of the discarded request.
The state after submission
A signature authorizes a specific transaction. Submission sends it to the network, and confirmation records it on-chain.
Keep the transaction identifier after submission and check whether the order-creation transaction confirms. A confirmed order can remain pending while it waits for settlement. Pending doesn't by itself mean that the order failed or that the output asset should already be in the wallet. Pending orders can end through a fill, an owner cancellation, or expiration where the relevant protocol supports it. Match the status with wallet balances and the later transaction that consumes the order rather than relying on one interface label.
When can a pending swap be canceled?
A swap can be canceled while its order output remains unspent and pending. An owner-initiated cancellation must identify that order and use a wallet authorized for it. Once settlement consumes the order, cancellation can't reverse the completed exchange. If the original order-creation transaction hasn't confirmed, there may not yet be a stable on-chain order for a cancellation transaction to consume.
Before canceling, refresh the order state and match the input asset, output asset, committed amount, and minimum received. This avoids targeting a different pending order when several have similar labels. Expiration and cancellation aren't interchangeable: an expiry rule exists only where the selected protocol supports it, while an owner cancellation is a separate transaction that must be built, signed, submitted, and confirmed.
Cancellation is a second Cardano transaction
Selecting an unfilled order for cancellation starts a new state change. It doesn't retract the earlier signature or remove the original transaction from Cardano history.
The cancellation transaction references the pending order and attempts to consume its unspent output. Its sender and protocol details must correspond to the order being canceled. The wallet that owns the order supplies the required authorization, and the transaction directs the refundable order assets back to that owner. Review those outputs rather than assuming that the word cancel guarantees the destination.
Because cancellation uses another Cardano transaction, it also consumes network resources. The wallet must be able to fund the fee shown for that transaction. Check the ADA inputs, change output, returned assets, and destination before approving the request. The cancellation signature is separate from the signature used to create the swap order.
After signing, the cancellation still needs submission and confirmation. A pending signature or an unconfirmed transaction hasn't completed the recovery. Once the cancellation confirms, the selected order can no longer settle, and the cancellation transaction provides its own identifier. The earlier order transaction remains visible because cancellation changes its spend state rather than erasing it.
A builder may reject a cancellation if the referenced output has already been spent, the connected wallet doesn't control the order, or the local order view has become stale. Recheck the current state before signing another copy. The order may have filled, expired, or been canceled through another submitted transaction. Repeated requests don't improve the result when the original output is no longer available.
How do you know the cancellation finished?
The cancellation is complete when its Cardano transaction confirms and the selected order is no longer available to fill. The returned assets should appear in the confirmed outputs and, after the wallet updates, in the owner's spendable balance. Check the asset identifier as well as the quantity. A ticker-only balance can hide a mismatch between two native assets that use similar display text.
If the pending-order panel and wallet balance disagree, compare both with the confirmed cancellation transaction. A delayed interface refresh can leave an old row visible or postpone a balance update. The network fee also means the total ADA balance need not return to its exact pre-order value. Confirmation, the spent order output, and the destination outputs together provide stronger evidence than a status label alone.
Execution and cancellation can race
Settlement and cancellation may compete for the same unspent order output. Cardano can confirm only a valid transaction that consumes the available output, so one path can make the other invalid. A failed cancellation therefore calls for a state check, not an immediate duplicate request. If settlement won, verify the received asset and executed transaction. If cancellation won, verify the returned assets and stop treating the order as fillable.
Records for the next decision
Keep the original transaction identifier, quoted output, signed minimum, and cancellation identifier together. Never store a seed phrase or private key with those records.
These details separate an unfavorable fill from an unfilled order, a successful cancellation from a stale display, and a rejected transaction from a submitted one. If you decide to trade again, request a fresh quote because pool reserves, routing, price impact, and fees may have changed. Don't copy the old minimum into a replacement without comparing the new terms. Once the transaction record agrees with the wallet balance, decide whether to keep the received asset, build a new swap, or stop.
Quick answers about Minswap
Does the minimum received include every Cardano cost?
No. Minimum received is the output-asset floor that the swap must satisfy under the signed terms. A route estimate can present liquidity-provider, DEX, or aggregator fees separately, and the built transaction includes the Cardano network fee. Required ADA deposits may also appear as distinct values. Review the total wallet movement instead of subtracting every cost label from the minimum output.
If the quote moves after I sign, can the order accept less than its recorded minimum?
The same signed order can't validly settle below its recorded minimum received. Changing pool conditions may leave the order pending, make execution unavailable, or trigger another protocol-specific outcome, but they don't silently lower the signed floor. Accepting a different minimum requires rebuilding the swap with new terms and signing that new transaction. Compare the replacement quote before authorizing it.
Is closing the Minswap tab enough to stop a pending order?
No. Closing a browser tab doesn't consume or cancel an on-chain order output. The pending order can remain available for settlement until another valid transaction fills, cancels, or, where supported, expires it. To back out, identify the correct pending order and submit its cancellation transaction. Then wait for confirmation and verify the returned assets in the wallet.
How can I match a pending order with the swap I signed?
Compare the order's owner, input asset, output asset, committed amount, minimum received, creation time, protocol, and transaction reference. The asset identifiers matter more than tickers or logos. The transaction reference distinguishes orders that otherwise look alike and connects the pending record to the original Cardano transaction. Confirm every field before creating a cancellation for that order.
Does canceling one Minswap order cancel all pending orders?
No. A cancellation targets the pending orders selected for that transaction. Other pending orders remain available unless they are also included and the cancellation tool supports handling them together. Review each selected order's assets, amounts, protocol, and transaction reference before signing. After confirmation, verify every targeted order separately instead of assuming that the entire pending-order list was cleared.