What is an atomic swap, and how does it work?

In easier terms, an atomic swap creates a mechanism where both sides of the cryptocurrency trade should satisfy all fixed conditions prior to the trade can be settled. Atomic swaps use hashed time lock contracts (HTLCs), which are a kind of clever contract, to allow safe and trustless exchanges of cryptocurrencies. Atomic swap clever contracts have two vital parts: Hashlock The hashlock system allows the agreement to be locked with an unique cryptographic key that can only be generated by the cryptocurrency depositor.