As blockchain technology continues to grow, one of its most pressing challenges remains cross-chain interoperability. The ability to seamlessly move assets and data across different networks is crucial for improving user experience and expanding blockchain adoption. Enter intents – a concept that allows users to broadcast their desired actions without being bound by the limitations. This blog delves into the concept of intents, their role in cross-chain interoperability, and how Axelar and InterSwap leverage intents to enable near-instant cross-chain swaps.

TL;DR

• Intents streamline cross-chain interactions by allowing third parties to efficiently execute users' desired actions.

• They enhance user experience by enabling near-instant execution of cross-chain transactions with safe finalization later.

• Axelar has implemented intents in its cross-chain architecture, powering innovations.

• InterSwap leverages Axelar’s intents to introduce Express Swap, enabling users to complete cross-chain swaps in seconds.

What Are Intents?

At their core, intents are expressions of a user’s desired actions encoded on-chain (e.g., "swap Token X for Token Y"). Unlike traditional swaps, which rely on predefined execution paths, intents allow anyone—whether an on-chain or off-chain actor—to fulfill these requests in the most efficient way possible. This flexibility creates a bridge between the rigid rules of on-chain execution and the dynamic possibilities of off-chain actions, such as accessing liquidity from multiple sources or aggregating several actions into one optimized transaction.

In simple terms, an intent is like saying, "I want to swap Token A for Token B, and I don’t care how you do it, as long as it’s done." This open-ended request allows the network to find the most efficient way to fulfill it, potentially drawing liquidity from multiple sources or executing several steps in one optimized transaction.

How Intents Work in Cross-Chain Transactions

In cross-chain interactions, intents shine even brighter. Typically, when swapping tokens across chains, users face significant latency—especially with blockchains like Ethereum where transactions can take several minutes to finalize. With intents, a user can post their intent on Chain A to swap for a token on Chain B. A third-party solver picks up this intent, fulfills it, and then waits for final settlement between the chains.

This method improves both the speed and flexibility of cross-chain transactions, reducing slippage and cost, while maintaining the security of the underlying blockchain networks.

Axelar’s Implementation of Intents

Axelar has taken the concept of intents and woven it into its General Message Passing (GMP) protocol, which facilitates secure, reliable communication across multiple blockchains. By adding intents to this cross-chain messaging architecture, Axelar enables near-instant transactions, even in complex scenarios like liquidity bridging or token swaps across chains.

One of the key innovations within Axelar’s framework is the GMP Express, which further enhances the user experience by allowing solvers to temporarily "lend" tokens to the destination chain while the original transaction is still finalising on the source chain. This reduces wait times for cross-chain transactions from several minutes to just seconds.

InterSwap and Axelar Intents: The Power of Express Swaps

Building on Axelar’s technology, InterSwap has developed Express Swap, an innovative feature that allows users to perform cross-chain swaps almost instantaneously. By utilizing Axelar’s intents and Express Service, InterSwap significantly enhances the speed and efficiency of cross-chain transactions.

How Express Swaps Work

In a typical cross-chain transaction, users may have to wait for several minutes before their swap is fully executed. However, with Express Swap, the transaction can be completed in a matter of seconds. Here's how it works:

1. A user initiates a cross-chain swap on InterSwap.

2. Instead of waiting for the transaction to finalize on the source chain, the Express Service "lends" the destination chain the necessary tokens to complete the swap immediately.

3. Once the original transaction finalizes on the source chain, the loaned tokens are repaid to the Express Relayer.

This method reduces latency by up to 100 times, making cross-chain trading more accessible and user-friendly, especially for time-sensitive activities like DeFi trading, gaming, or payments.

You can learn more about express swaps here.

As the industry continues to evolve, expect to see intents driving a new wave of cross-chain DeFi solutions. Stay tuned for more as InterSwap leads the charge toward a truly interconnected blockchain future.