Rift vs. Garden
Rift Research
Last updated
TLDR: Rift is an aggregator with best price execution. It includes Garden and all other supported venues in its routes. Rift adds 0 fee on the route, so you are guaranteed at least as good a rate as going to Garden directly. If Garden has the best route, Rift gives you that route with no added fee.
Garden is an HTLC-based atomic swap network with independent solvers. Both legs complete or the assets refund. Rift is an aggregator on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Hyperliquid, RobinhoodChain, Tempo, XLayer, Ink and Pharos.
Short version
| Dimension | Rift | Garden |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Aggregator | HTLC atomic swap + solver network |
| Fee | Zero added fee on every route | Solver spread |
| Settlement | Native | Native (HTLC) |
| Trust model | TEE | Hashlocked timelock contracts + solver operators |
| Bitcoin focus | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Best price execution across venues | Direct atomic native swaps |
Where each wins
Garden wins when:
- You want pure HTLC atomic settlement
- Garden’s solvers are offering the best live rate
- You prefer to go direct rather than through an aggregator
Rift wins when:
- You want best price execution across Garden, THORChain, Chainflip, intent rails and others
- Zero added fee matters
- You do not want to manually check multiple venues
Key differences
Garden is a venue with strong atomic guarantees. Its failure modes have historically been at the solver/infrastructure layer rather than the HTLC contracts themselves.
Rift is an aggregator. It includes Garden in its venue set. When Garden wins, Rift routes through Garden and you receive that rate with no added fee. The extra cost versus going direct is only the gas of the additional hop.
When to use which
- Use Garden directly when you know it is the best quote and you want pure HTLC settlement.
- Use Rift when you want best price execution across native venues at zero added fee.