# Cancel, Refund, and Punish explained

Atomic Swaps offer a lot of security and privacy benefits, but they also come with some responsibilities. It is important to recognize that Atomic Swaps are trustless, but not risk-free. As long as you follow the rules of the protocol, you can be sure that you will not lose your funds.

If you want to learn more about technical details, you can read this paper: [Atomic Swaps between Bitcoin and Monero, _Philipp Hoenisch, Lucas Soriano del Pino_](https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.12332) or read this [blog post](https://comit.network/blog/2020/10/06/monero-bitcoin/).

## Cancel

If the _Swap Provider_ has not been able to redeem the Bitcoin within 12 hours (144 Bitcoin blocks) from the start of the swap, the swap will be cancelled.
This is done by either you or the _Swap Provider_ publishing a special Bitcoin transaction called the `Bitcoin Cancel Transaction`.
As soon as this transaction is included in the Bitcoin blockchain, the swap is locked in a state where only the [_Refund_](#refund) and [_Punish_](#punish) paths can be activated. The _Happy Path_ path where you redeem the Monero is no longer possible.

## Refund

As soon as the swap is cancelled, you can refund your Bitcoin. This is done by publishing the `Bitcoin Refund Transaction` on the Bitcoin blockchain.
If this is done within 12 hours (144 Bitcoin blocks) from the inclusion of the `Bitcoin Cancel Transaction`, you will get your Bitcoin back.
If you do not refund your Bitcoin within this time frame, the _Swap Provider_ can punish you. This is a security measure to ensure that you do not cancel the swap and then refuse to refund your Bitcoin which would result in the _Swap Provider_ losing their Monero.

## Punish

If you do not refund your Bitcoin within 12 hours (144 Bitcoin blocks) from the inclusion of the `Bitcoin Cancel Transaction`, the _Swap Provider_ will _punish_ you. This will result in the _Swap Provider_ taking your Bitcoin as a penalty for not refunding it in time.
Even if this state is reached and the _Swap Provider_ has punished you, there's still hope to redeem the Monero. The _Swap Provider_ can choose to allow you to redeem the Monero by transmitting a secret key to you. This however is at the discretion of the _Swap Provider_ and they are not obligated to do so.