WHY YOUR SWAP GAVE YOU LESS THAN EXPECTED, AND HOW TO FIX IT
A trader submits a swap expecting one output amount, then watches the confirmed transaction settle for a slightly different amount, and assumes something went wrong. Two separate mechanics explain nearly every case like this, and they are not the same thing.
Price impact is the direct effect of your own trade size on the pool's pricing. Since STON.fi's pools use an automated formula rather than an order book, a larger trade relative to the pool's liquidity moves the price further before the trade completes. This is predictable and shown to you before you confirm a swap.
Slippage is different. It is the gap between the price quoted when you submitted the swap and the price actually available by the time the transaction confirms on chain, caused by other trades happening in between. Slippage tolerance is the setting that controls how much of that gap you will accept before the transaction cancels automatically rather than executing at a worse rate.
Setting tolerance too low causes failed transactions during normal market activity, since even small price movement between submission and confirmation exceeds the limit. Setting it too high risks accepting a materially worse rate than expected, particularly on pools with thinner liquidity. Checking a pool's TVL before a large swap gives a sense of how much price impact to expect before slippage even becomes a factor.
Preview price impact before you confirm any swap: https://blog.ston.fi/all-you-need-to-know-about-price-impact-on-decentralized-exchanges/
A trader submits a swap expecting one output amount, then watches the confirmed transaction settle for a slightly different amount, and assumes something went wrong. Two separate mechanics explain nearly every case like this, and they are not the same thing.
Price impact is the direct effect of your own trade size on the pool's pricing. Since STON.fi's pools use an automated formula rather than an order book, a larger trade relative to the pool's liquidity moves the price further before the trade completes. This is predictable and shown to you before you confirm a swap.
Slippage is different. It is the gap between the price quoted when you submitted the swap and the price actually available by the time the transaction confirms on chain, caused by other trades happening in between. Slippage tolerance is the setting that controls how much of that gap you will accept before the transaction cancels automatically rather than executing at a worse rate.
Setting tolerance too low causes failed transactions during normal market activity, since even small price movement between submission and confirmation exceeds the limit. Setting it too high risks accepting a materially worse rate than expected, particularly on pools with thinner liquidity. Checking a pool's TVL before a large swap gives a sense of how much price impact to expect before slippage even becomes a factor.
Preview price impact before you confirm any swap: https://blog.ston.fi/all-you-need-to-know-about-price-impact-on-decentralized-exchanges/