The Big Idea: Web2-Level Simplicity Meets Web3 Control
In today’s multi-chain world, using decentralized finance (DeFi) apps across different blockchains often feels like juggling too many wallets and bridges. NEAR Intents changes that. It delivers the ease of Web2—fast and simple user experiences—with the ownership and control of Web3.
With NEAR Intents, users can move assets across chains in seconds, while developers can build apps that work seamlessly for everyone, no matter which blockchain they use. Let’s unpack how it works and why it matters.
Market Makers: The Hidden Engines
At the heart of the Intents infrastructure are market makers—special participants who connect to NEAR’s “message bus.” Think of them as digital traders constantly listening for users’ swap requests and executing trades in real time. Their activity keeps liquidity flowing smoothly between blockchains, ensuring users get fair, fast exchanges.
Without these market makers, cross-chain DeFi would feel slow and fragmented. With them, NEAR Intents achieves near-instant finality—often in just over a second – and fees of less than a cent.
The Power of the One-Click API
Many projects integrate Intents through the 1-Click API, a high-level tool that simplifies complex DeFi actions. Normally, swapping tokens between chains involves several steps: deposit, swap, withdraw. The 1-Click API bundles them into one seamless action.
For example, apps like Zashi use this API to let users perform multi-chain swaps with a single click—no manual bridging or multiple confirmations. Developers can learn how to implement it easily through tutorials from NEAR Dev, like NEAR Intents 102 on YouTube.
Going Deeper: Low-Level Integrations
Some projects go beyond the high-level tools. Infinex, for instance, directly integrates NEAR Intents accounts inside its frontend. This design lets users perform instant Bitcoin swaps within the app itself—no external wallet juggling required. That’s why you’ll see “Bitcoin on NEAR” in Infinex’s interface.
This approach demonstrates Intents’ flexibility: developers can choose between quick integration or deep customization, depending on their product’s needs.
Real Magic: Fast, Cheap, and Non-Custodial
The real magic behind Intents lies in its performance. You can non-custodially (without giving up control of your assets) swap Bitcoin to Ethereum in about 1.2 seconds, paying less than $0.01 in compute fees.
That’s made possible by NEAR’s years of protocol-level innovation – especially in transaction speed and scalability. Users enjoy the familiar smoothness of Web2 apps, but with Web3’s self-custody and transparency.
Two Key Unlocks: Universal Accounts and Wrapped Assets
Two innovations make Intents so powerful:
1. Cross-chain NEAR Intents accounts – Any user from a supported blockchain can create one.
2. Wrapped assets on NEAR – Tokens from other chains can be represented safely and used within NEAR’s ecosystem.
Together, these unlock creative new DeFi possibilities. For example, a lending platform could let users from different blockchains log in with their preferred wallet, deposit wrapped tokens, and borrow assets across chains – all within one smooth experience.
Endless Cross-Chain Use Cases
The possibilities go far beyond lending. Imagine:
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A launchpad where projects issue tokens on any blockchain, accepting liquidity from all ecosystems.
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An NFT marketplace that hides wallet complexity so users can buy or sell NFTs regardless of their original chain.
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A savings app that automatically finds the best yield, even if it lives on a different blockchain.
With Intents, these ideas become practical, not theoretical.
Building Without Borders
Intents isn’t just for NEAR-native developers. If you’re comfortable with Ethereum tools, you can start right away on Aurora, NEAR’s EVM-compatible layer. Aurora Cloud even lets you launch your own interoperable chain—free of charge.
Projects like Safe Wallets on Bitcoin already use NEAR Intents combined with Aurora infrastructure and Gnosis Safe (a leading Ethereum tool) to handle custody and transactions across chains. It’s proof that Intents is more than an experiment—it’s production-ready technology.
Why It Matters for Builders
In the fast-moving DeFi space, locking your project into a single ecosystem can become a costly mistake. NEAR Intents offers a way out: build once, deploy everywhere.
By leveraging NEAR’s infrastructure, you can serve users from multiple blockchains without rebuilding your product for each one. It’s a plug-and-play path to cross-chain liquidity, bigger audiences, and sustainable growth.
Takeaway
NEAR Intents is redefining how crypto apps interact across blockchains. It brings Web2 simplicity to Web3 power, enabling instant swaps, universal accounts, and borderless liquidity. Whether you’re a developer or a user, Intents represents the next step toward a truly connected decentralized economy.
Explore it yourself at near-intents.org or check out the developer docs at docs.near-intents.org — and see what cross-chain feels like when it just works.
Updated: November 5, 2025
