Exploring 1inch's Inner Workings with Aleksandra Fetisova: A Journey Through Institutional Involvement, Memes, and the Evolving Landscape of Decentralized Finance
Swiping Past Challenges: 1inch's Game-Changing Future
1inch, a DeFi powerhouse, is all set to redefine the decentralized exchange landscape with its innovative solutions. Recently, we had the pleasure of chatting with Aleksandra "Sasha" Fetisova, Head of Business Development at 1inch, at Paris Blockchain Week 2025. Sasha spilled the beans on the platform's latest upgrades, industry trends, and future plans.
Revamping the Swap Game
For those lagging behind, 1inch isn’t your typical DEX. Instead, it aggregates liquidity from numerous DEXs across various blockchains, ensuring users secure the best swap rates. The latest updates have taken this a step further, as Sasha revealed.
1inch's new Fusion solution, an intent-based, cross-chain gasless system, is creating waves. This bad boy is compatible across EVM chains, skips third-party bridges, and shields users against MEV attacks. Bye-bye high fees, laggy swaps, and security threats—welcome to the future!
Maximum Effectiveness, Minimum Hassle
Fees have always been a thorny issue in the crypto world—gas costs, platform cuts, portfolio drains. Fret not, 1inch users! Sasha assures that swaps on 1inch are direct, with no hidden fees whatsoever.
The secret sauce, according to Sasha, is 1inch's community-driven approach and a team of highly skilled developers who have honed routing and smart contracts for smoother, cheaper transactions. Plus, in Fusion mode, the platform works with professional market makers—called resolvers— who pull liquidity from both decentralized and centralized exchanges.
Hack-Proof and Audit-Happy
Security is a top priority at 1inch. Sasha proudly declared, "We've never been hacked!" The key to their success lies in regular—at least five to ten times—audits for each new update or launch. But audits aren't the only defense mechanism; 1inch's co-founder and CTO Anton Bukov is meticulous about writing simple, streamlined smart contracts that are a breeze to audit.
International Expansion: Dubai, Here We Come
1inch, initially a remote-work baby, has recently set up shop in Dubai. Sasha believes the IMEA region is ripe for DeFi growth, and 1inch warmly welcomes the DeFi community to visit their Dubai hub when traveling!
The DeFi Landscape: What's Next?
Sasha anticipates three significant trends in DeFi:
- Institutional Participation: With major players such as Binance, OKX, and even traditional banks venturing into Web3 wallets and DeFi integrations, Sasha predicts a surge in institutional investments in DeFi (and rightly so!).
- The Rise and Risk of Meme Coins: Meme coins have been a buzzword lately—from Trump's coin to others—but they come with inherent risks. Sasha expressed concern about the lack of education for new users and suggested possible warnings about the volatile nature of meme coins.
- Tokenization of Real-World Assets and AI Onboarding: Two of Sasha's most exciting predictions are the tokenization of real-world assets (think hedge funds and real estate) and the use of AI agents for seamless, 24/7 user support within 1inch's wallet.
Going Cross-Chain: Solana and Beyond
Towards the end of April, 1inch dropped a bombshell—it's no longer limited to EVM-compatible chains; the platform is expanding to include Layer 1 blockchains. The first crossover was with Solana, and users are already itching to guess which other chains might join the party. Stay tuned!
[1] Sources:- https://decrypt.co/106679/ave-tokenization-actual-real-world-assets- https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2022/02/25/how-to-build-a-decentralized-identity-system-the-challenge-for-the-web3-community/- https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckapuff/2022/01/26/the-impending-arrival-of-ai-financial-advisors/?sh=37595db05a01
- With its expansion to Layer 1 blockchains, including Solana, 1inch is primed to broaden its influence in the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape.
- Institutional investors, such as Binance, OKX, and even traditional banks, are expected to pour more funds into DeFi, following the growing trend of Web3 wallets and DeFi integrations.
- The lack of education among new users regarding the volatile nature of meme coins has raised concerns, as tokens like Trump's coin have gained traction in the DeFi market.
- The future of 1inch's wallet includes the use of advanced AI agents for continuous, round-the-clock user support and the tokenization of real-world assets like hedge funds and real estate.
