What Is Relay and How It Moves Crypto Across Networks

Relay is the partner that moves crypto from one network to another in Picnic's operations. When you deposit a token into your account that was on another network, or withdraw to a network different from the one holding your balance, Relay is very likely handling that crossing.

Crypto doesn't live in just one place. The same digital dollar exists on several networks, and moving value between them tends to be the most confusing part for beginners. Relay exists to take that confusion out of the way.

What is Relay?

Relay is a platform for swaps, payments and transactions across different blockchains. Relay's documentation sums up its pitch like this: swap, pay and transact on any blockchain from a single balance.

The main features it offers are:

• cross-chain payments, where you pay on one network and the recipient gets the asset on another;
• bridges, which move an asset from one network to another in a single operation;
• swaps, on the same network or across different networks.

Behind the scenes, Relay's protocol connects people who want to make a transaction with "relayers", companies that execute the transaction on the destination network on the user's behalf. Instead of crossing the bridge yourself and waiting, someone delivers the value on the other side.

How does Relay work at Picnic?

Relay shows up in three types of operations in the app:

1. Deposits from another network. When you choose to deposit crypto that sits on another network, the app shows a deposit address. You send to that address, and Relay carries the value to your Picnic account. This works for several Ethereum-compatible networks, for Solana, for Tron and for native bitcoin.
2. Withdrawals to another network. To withdraw to Tron, Relay is the partner that handles the operation. For Solana, it competes for the quote with other providers, and whoever offers the best result wins.
3. Cross-chain swaps. When you swap a token on one network for a token on another network, Relay is one of the companies competing for your quote.

For native bitcoin, Relay also competes with other partners for the best deposit quote. And for some stablecoin deposits to the card, Rhino.fi takes the route.

You won't see Relay's name on the deposit screens. The app shows what matters: the address, the network and the estimated amount.

How much does it cost?

Deposits from another network have no Picnic fee. Cross-chain withdrawals and swaps may have one, and the final amount appears in the app before you confirm. Any crossing between networks also has the cost of the operation itself, which is already built into the quote.

The part that is still up to you

Relay handles the crossing, but it can't fix a wrong-network mistake. If the app shows an address to receive USDT on Tron and you send USDT over another network, the funds may not arrive. Before sending, check the network on both sides. We explain this risk in sending crypto on the wrong network (in Portuguese) and help you choose in which network to use to send USDT (in Portuguese).

If a deposit is taking a while, the guide crypto transfer pending or not received shows what to check.

Why does this matter to you?

Without a partner like Relay, depositing crypto from another network would require you to use a bridge yourself, pay fees in two places and follow the operation all the way through. With Relay, Picnic turns all of that into a deposit address. You send, and the value arrives in your account.

Thank you, Relay

A large share of the crypto deposits that reach Picnic from other networks go through Relay. That takes a partner that is fast, supports many networks and has a team that responds when something goes off script. Thank you to the Relay team for the partnership and for making simple a part of the crypto world that, by default, is anything but simple.

Picnic is a technology platform that lets users independently interact with USDC, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle, on public blockchains. USDC is not legal tender in Brazil.

Displayed exchange rates vary with market conditions. The final applicable amount is the one shown on the transaction confirmation screen. Cryptoassets involve risks, including volatility and loss of peg.

Picnic does not custody user assets and is neither a financial institution nor a virtual asset service provider. Sending and receiving U.S. dollar payments through a U.S. account is offered in partnership with Noah Savings Inc. Terms and conditions apply.

Information verified in April 2026.