RFQ & Intent-Based Trading

What you'll learn

• From Orders to Intents
• CowSwap and the CoW Protocol
• UniswapX and Permit2 Fillers
• 1inch Fusion and Fusion+
• Why Solvers Can Beat Mid-Quote Prices
• Takeaways and Further Reading

Key terms

Intent

A signed off-chain message specifying what the user wants (input token, output token, minimum amount, deadline) without specifying the execution path. Solvers compete to find the best fill.

Solver / Filler / Resolver

The professional actor in an intent-based system that finds and executes a fill for a user's intent. Called solvers in CowSwap, fillers in UniswapX, and resolvers in 1inch Fusion.

Coincidence of Wants (CoW)

When two users in the same batch want to trade in opposite directions on the same pair, they can be matched directly at the midpoint, with zero AMM slippage and zero MEV. The naming source for CowSwap.

CowSwap

The user-facing product of CoW Protocol; processes intents in batches, matches coincidences-of-wants first, routes residual through external liquidity via solver competition. ~$100B+ cumulative volume by 2025.

UniswapX

Uniswap's intent-based trading product launched 2023. Uses Dutch-auction price schedules and Permit2 for fill mechanics. UniswapX V2 (2024-2025) extends to cross-chain.

1inch Fusion / Fusion+

The intent-based products from 1inch. Uses staked resolvers and Dutch auctions; Fusion+ extends to cross-chain via LayerZero and other messaging infrastructure.

Permit2

A Uniswap-developed token approval standard. Users approve the Permit2 contract once, then sign individual time-limited approvals for specific spends. Powers UniswapX and many other modern swap and intent flows.

Dutch auction

A price-discovery mechanism where the order price starts favorable to one side and improves over time until a filler accepts. Used in UniswapX and 1inch Fusion to surface the best available execution price.

MEV internalization

The practice of allowing solvers/fillers to capture MEV from their fills, with most of it kept as their reward but some of it passed back to users as a better execution price. Structural feature of intent-based trading.