What Are Intents and Solvers? The Complete Guide to Intent-Based Blockchain Architecture

The blockchain ecosystem has evolved from simple peer-to-peer transactions to a complex multichain landscape where users struggle to navigate between different networks, protocols, and applications. This complexity has created a significant barrier to mainstream adoption, with users often needing technical expertise to accomplish basic tasks like transferring assets across chains or participating in DeFi protocols.

Intent-based architecture represents a fundamental paradigm shift that addresses these challenges by allowing users to specify their desired outcomes rather than the specific steps needed to achieve them. This approach transforms blockchain interactions from imperative instructions to declarative statements, making the technology more accessible and user-friendly.

Intent-based architectures, as the name suggests, focus on the user intent or desired outcome. Fundamentally, an intent in the blockchain represents a specific objective a user aims to accomplish. This revolutionary approach is particularly relevant for stablecoin-focused platforms like Eco's cross-chain infrastructure, where simplifying complex multichain operations can significantly improve user adoption and retention.

Traditional blockchain interactions require users to understand and specify every step of a transaction. If someone wants to swap tokens across different chains, they must manually bridge funds, navigate multiple interfaces, pay gas fees on different networks, and manage the timing and execution of each step. This process is not only complex but also prone to errors and failures.

Intent-based architecture flips this model entirely. It shifts the focus from imperative (the user needing to define the flow of operations) to declarative (the user only defining what they need to accomplish). Instead of specifying how to achieve a goal, users simply state what they want to happen, and specialized entities called solvers handle the execution details.

The fundamental structure of intent-based protocols involves three key stages that work together to deliver seamless user experiences:

This approach offers several compelling advantages over traditional transaction models, including reduced complexity for users, optimized execution paths, and improved success rates for cross-chain operations.

Solvers are the backbone of intent-based protocols, serving as specialized entities that bridge the gap between user intentions and blockchain execution. Solvers are the backbone of intent-based protocols. They are the entities that actually execute a user's intent, such as delivering an asset to chain A from chain B.

Think of solvers as professional service providers in the blockchain space. Just as you might hire a travel agent to plan a complex multi-destination trip rather than booking every flight and hotel yourself, solvers handle the intricate details of executing blockchain transactions while users focus on their desired outcomes.

Solvers operate in competitive marketplaces where they bid to fulfill user intents. This competition drives efficiency and helps ensure users receive optimal execution for their requests. However, being a successful solver requires significant technical expertise, capital, and infrastructure.

Several prominent protocols have implemented successful solver-based architectures that demonstrate the potential of intent-based systems:

Understanding the technical implementation of intent-based systems reveals why they represent such a significant advancement over traditional blockchain interactions. The architecture involves several sophisticated components working together to deliver seamless user experiences.

One of the critical challenges in the intent-based ecosystem has been the lack of standardization across different protocols. Each system traditionally implemented its own format for expressing and processing intents, leading to fragmentation and increased complexity for solvers.

The introduction of ERC-7683, the Cross Chain Intents Standard, addresses this fragmentation directly. ERC-7683 is the standard for crosschain Intents on Ethereum. Ethereum's Layer 2 (L2) solutions have solved scalability, enabling users to transact quickly and cheaply. However these advancements have also introduced fragmentation. That's where Intents come in—allowing actions to flow seamlessly across chains.

Order initiation in ERC 7683 begins with creating a CrossChainOrder struct, which encapsulates critical trade information, including the originating chain ID and order initiation and fulfillment deadlines. Users specify their desired outcomes through this struct, simplifying the trading process by removing the need to manage multiple steps or protocols.

This standardization enables several key benefits:

Intent-based protocols must ensure that solvers actually fulfill user intents as specified. This requires sophisticated settlement mechanisms that can verify cross-chain execution and handle disputes or failures.

By implementing a standard, cross-chain intents systems can interoperate and share infrastructure such as order dissemination services and filler networks, thereby improving end-user experience by increasing competition for fulfilling user intents.

Different protocols implement various approaches to settlement, from optimistic verification systems to cryptographic proofs, depending on their security requirements and performance targets.

The advantages of intent-based systems extend far beyond simple user experience improvements. These benefits create value for all participants in the blockchain ecosystem, from individual users to application developers and liquidity providers.

Simplicity: Intent-based blockchains also simplify transactions by focusing solely on the intended end result of the transaction. Behind the scenes, solvers are responsible for taking that intended result and identifying a series of steps required to achieve it.

This simplification is particularly valuable for non-technical users who want to participate in DeFi activities without understanding the underlying complexity. Users can focus on their financial goals rather than the technical implementation details.

Professional solvers often achieve better execution than individual users attempting to navigate complex multichain operations manually. Increased Efficiency: Intent-based blockchains enable more efficient transactions in a few different ways. Outsourcing the process of transaction creation to a third party helps to ensure that these transactions are implemented as efficiently as possible.

Solvers can leverage advanced strategies like transaction batching, optimal routing across multiple liquidity sources, and sophisticated timing mechanisms to minimize costs and maximize success rates.

Decreased Costs: The enhanced efficiency of intent-based blockchains can also create cost savings. An optimized transaction that uses fewer or less expensive instructions will incur lower gas fees.

For platforms focused on stablecoin operations like Eco's stablecoin infrastructure, these cost savings can be particularly significant given the high volume of transactions typically involved in stablecoin transfers and yield optimization.

Enhanced Security: Intent-based blockchain systems allow professional solvers to define the steps used to achieve the desired end goal. This can help to eliminate potential vulnerabilities in how transactions are implemented.

Professional solvers typically implement robust security practices, monitoring systems, and fallback mechanisms that individual users might not have access to or expertise to implement.

While intent-based architecture offers significant advantages, it also introduces new challenges and potential risks that must be carefully managed.

The lack of solvers to execute user intents is a widely known issue. It is an acknowledged problem with a simple-sounding solution – just onboard more solvers – that has not yet been, ahem, solved.

This shortage creates several interconnected problems:

Several factors make it challenging for new participants to enter the solver ecosystem:

Outsourcing transaction creation to a solver means that a user is depending on that solver to build a transaction that accurately reflects and implements their desires. One potential risk is that the solver may misinterpret the user's intent.

Users must trust that solvers will execute their intents honestly and competently. This creates potential vectors for abuse or error that don't exist in traditional self-executed transactions.

The blockchain community has recognized these challenges and is actively developing solutions to address the limitations of current intent-based systems.

The development of ERC-7683 represents a significant step toward solving the fragmentation problem in intent-based protocols. Boosts Liquidity: Allows dApps to access shared filler networks across chains, offering deeper liquidity. Speeds Up Transactions: Reduces failure rates and speeds up transaction times by fostering competition among fillers.

For stablecoin-focused platforms, this standardization is particularly valuable. Eco's support for ERC-7683 demonstrates how adopting common standards can improve interoperability and reduce development complexity while maintaining the benefits of intent-based design.

Platforms like Khalani propose a solution for enabling solver-solver collaboration. Instead of competing PvP against each other, solvers work together to find the best solution for each user's intent.

This collaborative approach allows smaller, specialized solvers to participate in complex intents that would otherwise require significant capital and technical resources. By enabling solver collaboration, these platforms can increase the diversity and competition in solver markets.

Solutions for capital efficiency address one of the primary barriers to solver participation. During the intent settlement process, solvers get repaid on the source chain where the user's intents are generated. This means they end up with funds scattered across a dozen different chains, which they need to constantly rebalance.

New protocols are developing clearing and netting mechanisms that reduce the capital requirements for solvers by optimizing how funds are redistributed across chains. These improvements make it more economically viable for smaller entities to participate as solvers.

Intent-based architecture has found practical applications across various domains within the blockchain ecosystem, demonstrating its versatility and potential for widespread adoption.

The most obvious application of intent-based systems is simplifying cross-chain transfers. Instead of users manually bridging assets, selecting routes, and managing gas across multiple chains, they can simply specify their destination and desired outcome.

Eco Routes exemplifies this approach, enabling users to move stablecoins between different Layer 2 networks with minimal friction. Users can express intents like "send 1000 USDC from Ethereum to Arbitrum" and have solvers handle the optimal routing, timing, and execution.

Intent-based systems enable more sophisticated DeFi strategies by allowing users to express complex financial objectives without understanding the technical implementation details.

For example, a user might express the intent to "earn yield on my USDC while maintaining the ability to withdraw within 24 hours." Solvers can then find optimal yield farming opportunities, manage position sizes, and handle rebalancing automatically.

Stablecoin-focused platforms particularly benefit from intent-based architecture because users typically care more about the outcome (receiving a specific amount of stable value) than the specific implementation details.

Eco's approach to stablecoin liquidity demonstrates how intent-based design can create more intuitive experiences for users who want to move value across chains or access yield opportunities without managing the complexity of multichain DeFi protocols.

Intent-based systems can support sophisticated portfolio management strategies by allowing users to express high-level investment objectives and have solvers implement optimal execution strategies.

Users might specify intents like "maintain 60% ETH and 40% stablecoin allocation across my portfolio" and have solvers automatically rebalance positions as market conditions change.

As the blockchain ecosystem continues to evolve, intent-based architecture is poised to play an increasingly important role in making the technology more accessible and efficient.

Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the intent model represents a significant advancement in blockchain technology. AI can help interpret more complex and nuanced user intents, optimize solver strategies, and predict optimal execution timing based on market conditions.

Future systems may support natural language intents where users can simply describe their goals in plain English, and AI systems translate these descriptions into structured intents that solvers can execute.

While current intent-based systems focus primarily on financial applications, the architecture has potential applications in other domains:

As the intent-based ecosystem matures, we expect to see increased specialization among solvers. Rather than generalist solvers attempting to handle all types of intents, we may see specialized solvers focusing on specific domains like:

Future intent-based applications will likely feature more intuitive user interfaces that allow users to express complex intentions through simple interactions. These interfaces might include:

For users, developers, and organizations interested in leveraging intent-based architecture, several pathways offer entry points into this emerging ecosystem.

Integrated Services: Many wallet providers and DeFi platforms are integrating intent-based features, allowing users to benefit from these systems without changing their existing workflows.

Developers can integrate intent-based functionality into their applications through several approaches:

Organizations or individuals interested in becoming solvers should consider:

Intent-based architecture represents a fundamental evolution in how users interact with blockchain technology. By shifting focus from implementation details to desired outcomes, these systems make blockchain technology more accessible while potentially delivering better execution through professional solver networks.

The success of platforms like Eco's intent-based stablecoin infrastructure demonstrates the practical value of this approach for real-world applications. As standardization efforts like ERC-7683 gain adoption and new solutions address current limitations, intent-based systems are positioned to become the dominant paradigm for blockchain interactions.

However, realizing this potential requires addressing current challenges around solver participation, standardization, and user trust. The development of collaborative solver networks, improved capital efficiency mechanisms, and robust security frameworks will be crucial for the long-term success of intent-based architecture.

For the blockchain ecosystem to achieve mainstream adoption, it must become as easy to use as traditional web applications. Intent-based architecture provides a clear pathway toward this goal by abstracting complexity while maintaining the benefits of decentralization and programmable money.

As Intent-based architectures pave the way for a future where individuals of varying technical expertise can seamlessly engage with decentralized applications, thereby promoting the widespread acceptance and utilization of blockchain technology across diverse sectors. The continued development and adoption of intent-based systems will play a crucial role in bringing blockchain technology to mainstream users worldwide.

What is the main difference between intent-based and traditional blockchain transactions?

Traditional blockchain transactions require users to specify every step of execution, while intent-based systems allow users to declare their desired outcome and have specialized solvers determine the optimal execution path.

How do solvers make money in intent-based systems?

Solvers typically earn fees for successfully executing user intents. They compete in auctions where they bid to provide the best execution for users, with the winner earning a fee for their service.

Is intent-based architecture secure?

Intent-based systems can be secure when properly implemented with appropriate verification mechanisms, settlement contracts, and solver reputation systems. However, users must trust solvers to execute intents correctly.

What types of applications benefit most from intent-based architecture?

Cross-chain applications, DeFi protocols, and any system requiring complex multi-step transactions benefit significantly from intent-based design. Stablecoin-focused platforms particularly benefit due to user focus on outcomes rather than implementation details.

How does ERC-7683 improve intent-based systems?

ERC-7683 standardizes how cross-chain intents are expressed and processed, enabling different protocols to share solver networks and infrastructure, which increases competition and improves execution quality for users.