I came across an interesting interview with Sergey Kunz, co-founder of 1inch. The guy isn’t one to diplomatize—he speaks plainly about where DeFi is heading, and his vision is quite bold.

Sergey Kunz sees the future in fully seamless peer-to-peer interactions, where centralized exchanges will simply disappear like dinosaurs. Sounds radical? Maybe. But when you look at what 1inch is doing, it starts to seem not all that far-fetched.

In the early years—it was pure Ethereum; then they added EVM-compatible networks. Now 1inch already works with fourteen blockchains, including their recent integration with Solana. But that’s only the beginning. Sergey Kunz talks about plans to integrate Bitcoin, Litecoin, and other networks that are not like Ethereum. The idea is simple: gather all liquidity in one place so users don’t have to jump between platforms.

What’s really impressive is their approach to executing swaps. 1inch uses an intent-based protocol that they developed to combat front-running and sandwich attacks. The essence is that the user’s order enters open competition among market makers that offer the best execution. Sergey Kunz describes a case where someone swapped 12 million USDT for Ethereum and received 135 thousand more than they would have if they’d done it through a regular DEX. This isn’t marketing—this is a real difference.

What’s interesting is that Uniswap X later adopted a similar idea and even references 1inch in its whitepaper. Sergey Kunz smiles when he mentions it.

Then it gets even more ambitious. He says users shouldn’t care at all about networks and bridges. What should matter is only that they have the right assets. Cross-chain swap is already almost a reality: connect your wallet, click, confirm—and you’re done.

Sergey Kunz’s long-term vision is even broader. When all companies and banks start tokenizing real assets, a secondary market will be needed where you can trade them. 1inch plans to offer its protocols and APIs for institutions so they can exchange such assets securely without custodial risks.

On the horizon of one to three years—more networks, an even smoother experience. And then? Sergey Kunz says it with a spark in his eyes: competing and testing against centralized exchanges. Considering that spot volume on CEXs fell by almost 28% in Q2 2025, this isn’t just talk. DeFi really is coming.