Inside 1inch and the Race to Build the Ultimate DeFi Aggregator
In Brief
Aleksandra Fetisova, partnerships & BD at 1inch, shares how the company is driving innovation in DeFi. From solving interoperability challenges to enhancing user experience for both retail and institutional players. She highlights how 1inch goes beyond just offering better pricing, leading the industry with solutions like Fusion and MEV protection.
In this interview, Aleksandra discusses the biggest barriers to cross-chain liquidity, the role of institutional adoption in DeFi’s growth, and how emerging trends like Bitcoin DeFi and AI-driven tools are shaping the market.
Can you share your journey to Web3?
I worked in the banking industry for seven years. One day, one of my former clients saw me on the street and invited me to lunch. That client was Konstantin Lomashuk, one of the co-founders of cyber.Fund, Satoshi Fund, and now Lido. I still deeply appreciate that he trusted me.
During lunch, he invited me to his office just 30 minutes later. He told me they were working on an ICO and engaged in the blockchain industry. That’s how I started. I spent the next four years with his team at cyber.Fund and Satoshi Fund. We also launched another project that eventually became a casino.
Together with my wonderful friend Nadia, who now coordinates Cyber Academy, we contributed to cyber events. After four years, I burned out and left. I then advised Sensorium Galaxy and contributed to several accelerators.
During this journey with Konstantin, I participated in a few car hackathons, where I met the 1inch team. At that time, I was working on another exciting project called Azuro, which was building infrastructure for prediction markets. While working there, Sergej from 1inch saw me in action and invited me to join their team part-time. That’s how it happened.
Now, I consider myself incredibly lucky to be part of a community of brilliant contributors worldwide. 1inch is more than just a project—it’s a family. Our co-founders are my mentors and friends. We are DeFi dreamers, working together to reshape the financial world and bring decentralization to finance.
What is the most underestimated technical challenge in building an effective aggregator within the DeFi ecosystem?
Technically speaking, interoperability is not easy. I wouldn’t say it’s underestimated, but it is definitely one of the biggest challenges.
We solved a significant part of this issue with Fusion for the EVM layers, and soon, we will surprise the market with solutions for L1s as well. Our goal is to create seamless interoperability across all chains. We are building a chain-agnostic, cross-chain liquidity layer.
What are the biggest barriers to seamless cross-chain liquidity aggregation in DeFi? How is 1inch addressing them?
One of the biggest barriers to seamless cross-chain liquidity aggregation is user experience. But not just for retail users—B2C users. The UX for B2B liquidity providers still needs improvement.
Another key challenge is the number of users in the market. We need to create a seamless experience for third-party resolvers, ensuring they have smooth onboarding and the right incentives to participate. At the same time, we need to expand the user base so that liquidity providers see profitability in participating.
With Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) concerns affecting DeFi traders, what innovations are being explored to mitigate its impact?
MEV attacks, particularly sandwich attacks, have been a big problem in DeFi. That’s why our team designed Fusion—our solution to combat MEV.
Before Fusion, nearly $4 billion in liquidity was affected by sandwich attacks. This was one of the primary reasons we developed our MEV protection system within Fusion Plus. This innovation not only offers MEV protection but also enables gasless transactions and aggregates liquidity across both centralized and decentralized exchanges.
With increasing competition among DEX aggregators, how do industry players differentiate themselves beyond just offering better pricing?
Offering better pricing is already a significant differentiator because, at the end of the day, users always choose the best rate. When a wallet integrates multiple options, users will naturally gravitate toward the platform providing the best deals.
That said, differentiation goes beyond pricing. User experience is a major factor. In Web3, UX remains one of the biggest industry-wide challenges, and it’s no different for aggregators.
At 1inch, our developers and CTO, Anton, are visionaries. They predict industry trends before they happen. We don’t just compete; we lead innovation. A good example is Fusion—after we launched it, Uniswap followed with their UniswapX and acknowledged the effectiveness of our model. This proves that being ahead of the curve is key to differentiation.
How do decentralized exchanges approach the risk of malicious liquidity pools, and what industry-wide strategies are in place to prevent them?
The best way to prevent malicious liquidity pools is through education. Awareness can help users avoid risks before they even arise.
Additionally, working with strong, reputable partners who have extensive experience in the industry is crucial. Security audits also play a significant role, ensuring that projects undergo multiple audits before integration to minimize risks. These three factors—education, strong partnerships, and thorough security audits—are key to mitigating risks.
How does institutional adoption of DeFi impact the future growth and development of DEX aggregators?
Institutional adoption is the pathway to mass adoption. Once institutions fully embrace DeFi, we’ll see a massive influx of trading volume, which will increase revenues and liquidity for decentralized exchange aggregators.
This is where we expect the first billion users to enter the space, followed by the second, and so on. As institutions join, it will solidify DeFi’s legitimacy and drive broader adoption.
What is the most overlooked macroeconomic factor that could significantly impact DeFi adoption?
Institutional adoption is certainly one major factor, but another overlooked one is political support. When political leaders publicly endorse crypto, it attracts more attention and capital into the market.
A good example is the Trump coin case. Even though I’m not a fan of meme coins—since some people win and others lose—it did bring in hundreds of thousands of new users. When global leaders openly support crypto, it has a ripple effect on adoption.
How do you see DeFi evolving in the next five years, and what role will aggregation play in its development?
We are DeFi dreamers, and we believe decentralized finance will give financial freedom to everyone. People won’t have to wait for days or weeks for transactions to process—they will have instant, permissionless access to finance.
DeFi is already reshaping economies. For instance, look at how Axie Infinity impacted the Philippines or how African markets are leveraging DeFi. More opportunities will emerge, especially in underserved regions.
Aggregation will continue playing a key role by providing the best user experience and ensuring users always get the best rates.
What are the key trends in Web3 and DeFi right now compared to last year?
AI is the biggest trend in Web3 right now. AI-powered assistants are helping onboard new users by guiding them through self-custody wallets, risks, and best practices.
Another trend is meme coins. Many new participants are engaging with them, but they carry risks. Unlike traditional gambling, there are no regulators to warn people when they are making dangerous bets.
In DeFi, we are seeing the rise of Bitcoin DeFi. Previously, Bitcoin and DeFi were separate ecosystems, but now Bitcoin is being integrated into DeFi applications. This is a major shift from past cycles.
Additionally, more traditional financial institutions (TradFi) are entering the market. The last cycle was focused on gaming and Web3 experiments, but this time, serious institutional players are joining the space.
What major developments are expected in Web3 and DeFi in the coming months?
This is a question better suited for Anton, our co-founder, since he is the visionary behind many of our initiatives. However, what I can share is that we are focused on making liquidity open, cross-chain, and interoperable.
We are also working on self-custody, chain-agnostic atomic swaps—solutions that eliminate the need for trust in third parties.
Another important development is the increasing role of messaging platforms in crypto adoption. Platforms like Telegram, KakaoTalk, and Line are integrating mini-apps that introduce more users to DeFi. This could be a key area of growth in the next 6 to 12 months.
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About The Author
Victoria is a writer on a variety of technology topics including Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her extensive experience allows her to write insightful articles for the wider audience.
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Victoria is a writer on a variety of technology topics including Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her extensive experience allows her to write insightful articles for the wider audience.
