The Future of Crypto Swapping: From CEX to Intents

For most people, acquiring a token still means opening an exchange, verifying an identity, and trusting a custodian. That model works — but it is being quietly out-competed by simpler, self-custodial primitives.

AMMs made every asset tradable

Automated market makers turned any wallet into a trading venue. Liquidity providers earn rewards, traders get instant execution, and no counterparty needs to be found manually. The tradeoff was slippage and gas.

Aggregators solved best execution

Instead of picking a pool, aggregators route a single swap across dozens of venues in one transaction. The user sees one quote; under the hood, the order splits to minimize slippage.

Intents are the next step

An intent is simply a signed statement of what you want — 'I want at least X of token B for my token A' — without specifying how to achieve it. Solvers compete off-chain to fulfill your intent at the best possible rate. You sign once; the network figures out the path.

• Better prices — competition across solvers, not pools.
• Chain-abstracted — swap across chains from one signature.
• MEV-resistant — solvers absorb the risk, not the user.
• Simpler UX — one signature, one confirmed outcome.

MAQ's roadmap embraces this direction: swap flows that feel closer to messaging than to trading, backed by transparent on-chain settlement.