- How has your experience been at Token2049 this year, and what stood out to you the most?
- Token2049 this year was amazing – it’s one of the best places to feel the pulse of the crypto industry and connect with the community. Discussing DeFi’s future with so many passionate people really stood out as the highlight of the conference.
- When did you first realize that 1inch could become more than a side project and grow into a global protocol?
- 1inch began as a hackathon project. What problem were you and Sergej trying to solve in those early days?
- 1inch has expanded from an aggregator into a full product ecosystem with wallet, portfolio, card, and cross-chain swaps. How do you decide which products to build?
- Sergej and I started 1inch at a hackathon in May 2019 to solve a straightforward problem: we wanted the best crypto swap rates by aggregating multiple DEXs, because traders were losing value due to fragmented liquidity. At first it was just a side project, but as more people began using our prototype and giving great feedback, we realized around 2019-2020 that this could grow into a global protocol – I even went full-time on 1inch because the traction was so strong. Since then, 1inch has evolved from a simple DEX aggregator into a whole DeFi ecosystem. We build protocols which make DeFi a more fair, larger and deeper place for everyone: if there’s a feature that can significantly improve users’ DeFi experience or advance the space, then it’s a product we’re willing to pursue.
- You just rebranded to 1inch.com with a new identity. Why did you make this move now, and what message are you sending with it?
- Many people still find DeFi hard to use. What do you see as the biggest user experience challenge left to solve?
- We rebranded to reflect how much the project has matured and to unify our growing ecosystem under one clear identity. The new look isn’t just cosmetic – it signals that 1inch is ready for the next stage of DeFi, bridging the gap between crypto and traditional finances. The biggest user experience challenge still remaining is making DeFi feel effortless for everyday: interactions are still too complex. We’re tackling this by streamlining interfaces and abstracting away technical steps. In practice, that means working on things like intuitive wallets, easy fiat on-ramps, and even cross-chain swaps in one click. It’s a huge challenge to hide all the complexity while maintaining power and security, but that’s where we see the next leap in adoption.
- Security and compliance are becoming more important in DeFi. How do you balance open innovation with building a safe, regulator-friendly platform?
- You often speak about cross-chain and intents. What does a true cross-chain future look like to you, and how close are we to it?
- We take security and compliance very seriously — for example, 1inch is actively pursuing certifications like ISO 27001 and SOC 2 to meet the security standards that institutional partners expect. The key is doing this without sacrificing DeFi’s core principles: we keep everything non-custodial and open-source, so anyone can audit our code and users always control their funds. In other words, we want to innovate in the open while still providing the assurances that make regulators and traditional players comfortable. As for cross-chain and intents, I’m a big believer that the true cross-chain future will make blockchain silos invisible to the user. You won’t need to know which network you’re on – you’ll just define what you want to do, and it will happen across chains behind the scenes. However, there are still challenges to solve, so I’d say we’re on the path but it will take a bit more time and collaboration industry-wide to fully realize this seamless cross-chain vision.
- You recently partnered with Coinbase. How do you see institutional partnerships shaping the future of 1inch and DeFi as a whole?
- Coinbase integrated the 1inch Swap API into their app, which means millions of Coinbase users can now access DeFi liquidity and execute swaps directly within the Coinbase app. Users get a familiar, user-friendly interface while 1inch works on the backend to provide the best rates and self-custodial trades. I see institutional and enterprise partnerships as crucial for the next phase of DeFi’s growth: by embedding DeFi tech into platforms that mainstream users already use, we essentially act as a bridge connecting traditional finance users to the benefits of decentralized finance.
- You’ve scaled 1inch from zero to billions in volume. What are the two or three most important lessons you’d share with new Web3 founders?
- After five years of building, what keeps you motivated to continue pushing in such a competitive and fast-changing industry?
- The biggest lessons: solve real problems, stay persistent, and never compromise on security. 1inch started as a tiny hackathon project but grew because we kept improving and prioritized safe, audited code. What drives me is DeFi’s potential to empower 1.4 billion unbanked people and the constant innovation that makes this space so exciting.
