In a step towards achieving a unified multi-network decentralized finance system, the 1inch platform announced today during the TOKEN2049 event held in Dubai from April 28 to May 4, its anticipated integration with the Solana network, one of the fastest-growing blockchains in the sector.
This announcement represents not only a technical achievement but also a strategic shift that consolidates the provision of fully secured and optimized cross-network trading experiences instead of quick and partial solutions. Users can now perform swaps within the Solana network through the 1inch decentralized application (dApp), and developers can access six powerful APIs through the 1inch developer portal.
Sergey Kunz, co-founder of 1inch, told CNN Business, "Our integration with Solana brings us closer to our core goal of unifying different networks and breaking down barriers that hinder the adoption of decentralized finance. While some rush to offer partial solutions, at 1inch we ensure that every launch is fully optimized, secure, and provides a safe and efficient trading experience."
This will enable access to approximately one million tokens issued on Solana through 1inch, with protection against maximum extractable value (MEV) attacks - which are among the main challenges to the integrity and security of decentralized networks - and secure liquidity aggregation, providing a seamless and high-quality user experience.
When asked why it took 1inch longer than expected to integrate services on the Solana network, Kunz stressed that the focus has always been on quality before speed, stating, "At 1inch, we prioritize delivering fully secure and optimized solutions instead of rushing integration. Solana is not an Ethereum-compatible EVM chain, which forced us to build a completely new integration from scratch, not just a modification of the existing infrastructure. Additionally, the Solana toolset environment was not mature enough until recently, making the implementation of a high-quality experience a real challenge."
Smart protection
This approach aligns with Solana's recent superior performance; according to Dune Analytics data, Solana led decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume over the past three months by 33% higher than Ethereum, recording a 400% increase in transactions and an 180% increase in active wallets.
Regarding user protection, Kunz explained, "At 1inch, we use an intent-based architecture alongside rigorously audited smart contracts to protect users. We also rely on a filtering system through a whitelist, where we only aggregate trusted and verified tokens, significantly reducing exposure to fraudulent or spam tokens."
Solana is characterized by its ability to process transactions at high speed and low costs, making it an attractive platform for traders. However, it is important to differentiate between real organic activity and activity generated by bots or duplicate wallets when evaluating these statistics. With over a million tokens traded on Solana, this strategy represents a critical line of defense against risks, while maintaining the flexibility for users who wish to add other tokens at their own risk.
The estimated number of daily active traders on the Solana network this April is around 2.1 million users, after peaking at 2.9 million in June 2024. However, some reports indicate that the number of daily active addresses may have exceeded 5.5 million in September 2024, but it is noted that this figure may include inorganic activity due to the use of bots or the creation of multiple wallets by users.
Networks without traditional bridges
Swaps across networks between Solana and other networks supported by 1inch are scheduled to launch in the coming months. Instead of relying on external bridges, we use our own bridge-less architecture, which has previously been implemented in cross-network swaps at 1inch to deliver a seamless and secure trading experience without the usual risks associated with traditional bridges - which have been a major vulnerability in the decentralized finance sector - according to Kunz.
Kunz explained, "We use a bridge-less architecture that we developed internally, which has previously been applied in cross-network swaps at 1inch, providing a seamless and secure trading approach without the risks associated with traditional bridges."
Supporting the developer community on Solana
In addition to user benefits, 1inch aims to incentivize the developer community by providing advanced infrastructure and explaining that "our strategy is to deliver high-quality, easy-to-integrate infrastructure, which is the same infrastructure we use in our solutions. With six powerful APIs, developers can now build innovative applications that leverage liquidity aggregation, security, and high performance from day one."
This step contributes to expanding the Web3 ecosystem and decentralized finance on the network. With the integration of Solana's exceptional speed and its increasing adoption within a comprehensive 1inch ecosystem, Kunz believes the future is closer than we think: faster, broader decentralized finance, and free from borders.
This integration strengthens our role as a global multi-network marketplace for swaps. We are building a future where decentralized finance is seamless, secure, and accessible to all, regardless of the network they prefer.
Multi-network liquidity
This moment also represents a milestone through liquidity aggregation from multiple blockchain networks that ensures the use of bridge-less architecture and a smart auction mechanism that guarantees secure and fast transactions. To trade a token between two networks, you typically need to use a "bridge," which is vulnerable to hacks and issues.
Since its inception in 2019, 1inch has amassed over 22 million users and processes more than $400 million in daily trades, solidifying its position as a major market for decentralized trading across networks.