Enso is a blockchain infrastructure that helps make complex financial operations on the blockchain easier. It does this by letting users and developers express what they want to achieve, called "intents," without worrying about the technical details. For example, if you want to "maximize yield with ETH," Enso figures out the best way to do it. This is part of the intent ecosystem, where the focus is on the goal, not the steps.

Enso's main role is to provide a unified network that connects multiple blockchains and smart contracts. It offers tools like Actions (basic operations like swapping tokens) and Shortcuts (pre-built sequences of Actions for complex tasks). This makes it faster and safer for developers to build apps and for users to interact with DeFi protocols.

What Are Shortcuts?

Shortcuts in Enso are like ready-made recipes for common DeFi tasks. They combine several Actions, such as swapping one token for another and then staking it, into one smooth process. This means you can do complex things, like portfolio rebalancing or yield farming, with just one command, saving time and reducing errors.

In the evolving landscape of blockchain and decentralized finance (DeFi), the intent ecosystem has emerged as a transformative approach, allowing users to specify high-level goals, or "intents," rather than manually executing each transaction. This paradigm shift aims to lower barriers for both developers and end-users, fostering broader adoption and innovation. Enso, a prominent player in this space, offers a robust infrastructure that abstracts the complexities of blockchain interactions, enabling efficient and reliable intent fulfillment. This note provides a comprehensive analysis of Enso's role within the intent ecosystem and a detailed explanation of Shortcuts, drawing from recent insights and documentation.

Background and Context

The intent ecosystem is built on the concept of intents, which are user-defined objectives, such as "swap ETH for USDC and stake it for yield." Rather than requiring users to navigate the intricacies of smart contract interactions, the system translates these intents into executable actions. This approach is particularly valuable in DeFi, where operations often involve multiple steps across different protocols and chains, increasing complexity and risk.

Enso, founded with a vision to simplify blockchain development, has evolved significantly since its inception in 2021. Initially focused on liquidity bootstrapping through a vampire attack, it pivoted to social trading in 2022 and launched a DeFi super app in 2023, integrating over 50 protocols. By 2024, it transitioned into a DeFi abstraction API, facilitating $11 million in volume within two weeks of launch. As of March 2025, Enso supports over 75 projects and has processed $15 billion in onchain settlements, underscoring its growing influence.

Enso's Role in the Intent Ecosystem

Enso operates as a Tendermint-based Layer 1 blockchain, offering APIs that allow developers to declare integration outcomes without handling blockchain intricacies. Its core mission is to abstract the complexity of smart contract interactions, enabling protocol teams to focus on core strategies. This is achieved through several key features:

• Shared Network State: Enso aggregates and stores smart contract interactions across multiple chains, providing a unified data layer. This addresses challenges like fragmentation, complexity, scalability, security, and consistency, ensuring a cohesive environment for intent execution.

• Standardized Data Models: By ensuring a consistent framework for integrating smart contracts, Enso reduces development overhead, making it easier for developers to build applications.

• Real-Time Updates: The platform provides the latest state of blockchain interactions, enabling efficient and timely execution of intents.

• Efficient Execution: Enso optimizes transaction pathways to minimize costs, such as gas fees, and maximize efficiency, which is crucial for cost-sensitive DeFi operations.

• Security Measures: A network of validator nodes performs simulations and checks to maintain system integrity, with redundancy mechanisms to enhance reliability.

These features collectively enable Enso to serve as a bridge between user intents and on-chain execution, supporting a wide range of DeFi applications. For instance, it has processed $3.1 billion for the Boyco Berachain launch and is ranked as the #2 aggregator in volume per DefiLlama. Projects like Bedrock, Plug, Spicenet, Glider, and Velvet Capital have integrated Enso for rapid deployments, such as one-click deposits and liquidity orchestration.

An unexpected detail is Enso's role as an AI enabler, empowering AI agents in DeFi. For example, Hey Anon uses Enso to execute trades across 180+ protocols, bridging AI's analytical capabilities with on-chain actions. This integration highlights Enso's potential to facilitate advanced automation, which may not be immediately apparent to users focused on traditional DeFi use cases.

Actions and Shortcuts: The Operational Framework

Enso's infrastructure is built on two fundamental components: Actions and Shortcuts, which are critical to its intent-based model.

• Actions: Actions are standardized representations of individual smart contract interactions. They include common operations such as token approvals, deposits, swaps, and staking. By standardizing these actions, Enso ensures they are modular, reusable, and optimized for performance. This minimizes gas fees and execution time, making them efficient building blocks for more complex workflows. For example, an Action might involve approving a token transfer, which is a prerequisite for many DeFi operations.