A Monero wallet only learns about incoming payments by scanning blocks with its view key. Until it reaches the block with your swap payout, the balance stays at zero.
Why syncing takes time
Monero hides recipients behind one-time stealth addresses, so the wallet must check outputs itself. A local node gives the best privacy but its first sync takes hours; a remote node lets you start at once at some privacy cost (see the Monero remote node docs).
What to check
- Compare the wallet's height with the network height.
- If your own node is still syncing, wait or temporarily use a trusted remote node.
- If sync is done and nothing shows, the restore height may be after the payout block; rescan from earlier (see restore height guide).
- Received outputs unlock after 10 confirmations, about 20 minutes.
- Still nothing? Contact support with the order number and transaction hash.
Mobile wallets may pause scanning in the background, so keep the app open and connected. Do not restore the same seed in a second app while the first is syncing: both would scan the same blocks and nothing gets faster.
You can confirm the payout was broadcast by looking up the order's transaction hash in any Monero explorer, although the amount and recipient stay hidden. Write down your wallet's creation date or height next to the seed.
Before swapping
Sync the wallet before creating an order on the BTC to XMR page. XMR swaps use a floating rate only, so the final amount may differ slightly from the initial estimate.
FAQ
Why don't I see the XMR from my swap?
The wallet probably has not scanned the payout block yet.
Why can't I spend received XMR right away?
Outputs unlock after 10 confirmations, roughly 20 minutes.