At the heart of DeFi innovation, 1inch has built one of the most popular decentralized exchange aggregators in the space.
During Paris Blockchain Week 2025, we had the opportunity to sit down with Aleksandra “Sasha” Fetisova, Head of Business Development at 1inch, to explore the future of 1inch, the DeFi landscape, and the broader cryptocurrency industry.
Sasha shared insights on recent upgrades, challenges faced within the ecosystem, and the trends she believes will define DeFi in the coming years.
Reinventing the Swap Experience
For those unfamiliar, 1inch doesn’t operate like a traditional DEX; rather, it functions as a DEX aggregator. Instead of providing a standalone marketplace, it scours hundreds of decentralized exchanges to provide users with the best possible rates.
Recently, Sasha explained how the latest updates have enhanced this experience.
“We improved our swap experience with an intent-based, cross-chain gasless solution called Fusion,” she said. “It’s interoperable across EVM chains, doesn’t rely on third-party bridges, and is protected against MEV [maximum extractable value] attacks. It’s all about making swaps faster, cheaper, and safer.”
For regular users, this means reduced friction and lower costs, particularly when transferring assets across chains—an issue that has long troubled the decentralized finance space.
Fees are a sensitive topic in crypto, where gas costs and platform cuts can quietly erode portfolios.
“Our users can be sure they’re doing direct swaps without any added fees,” Sasha emphasized. “We’re a community-driven project, and we don’t charge users on our DApp or mobile wallet.”
Sasha also credited the project’s developers for optimizing routing and smart contracts, ensuring swaps remain efficient and cost-effective. However, that’s only part of the equation:
“We aggregate liquidity from over 500 DEXs across 10 to 13 chains,” she shared. “Plus, in Fusion mode, we work with professional market makers—resolvers—who pull liquidity not only from decentralized sources but also from centralized exchanges.”
Security Through Minimalism
1inch’s approach emphasizes a strong focus on security.
“We’ve never been hacked,” Sasha stated firmly. “That’s because we conduct at least five to ten audits every time we update or launch something new.”
But it’s not just about audits, she pointed out. The philosophy of co-founder and CTO Anton Bukov centers on writing minimal, highly efficient smart contracts.
“Instead of creating bloated, complex code, Anton spends considerable time thinking and then writes a small, functional piece of code—something that can be audited quickly and runs efficiently,” she explained. “It’s a very intentional design.”
Going Global: From Decentralized Team to Dubai Hub
Although 1inch was born during the remote-work boom of COVID, the team has recently opened its first physical office in Dubai.
“We see the IMEA region as very fruitful, especially under current market conditions,” Sasha shared. “If our community is traveling to Dubai, we’re eager to show them around!”
She hinted at Dubai’s favorable conditions for fostering crypto innovation.
Looking beyond 1inch’s immediate plans, Sasha reflected on the broader trends shaping DeFi.
“In the next cycle, we’ll see more institutions entering DeFi,” she predicted. “We’re already witnessing centralized exchanges like Binance and OKX launching Web3 wallets, along with banks—like Societe Generale with its FORGE platform—exploring DeFi integrations.”
On a contrasting note, she acknowledged the rise of meme coins.
“When Trump launched his meme coin, it attracted many new users, yet many ended up losing money,” she shared. “I would love to see some form of education or system notifications warning users that meme coins are not guaranteed wealth machines.”
Real-World Assets and AI: The Next Frontiers
Sasha is particularly enthusiastic about the tokenization of real-world assets.
“I met someone who tokenized mangoes for an African central bank—can you imagine?” she laughed. “We’re going to see more real estate tokenization, hedge fund tokenization… These are the trends that could usher in the first billion users into crypto.”
And how do we onboard those billions?
“We need AI agents,” Sasha asserted. “Imagine an AI assistant in the 1inch wallet that guides new users, answers their questions, and helps them navigate the features. I can only help about 100 people a day; an AI agent can help thousands, 24/7.”
Towards the end of April, 1inch made a major announcement about its expansion to Solana.
“We’re not just EVM-compatible anymore; we’re expanding to Layer 1s and encourage users to guess which chains are coming next.”
These insights from Sasha provide a glimpse into the evolving landscape of DeFi and the innovative strides that 1inch is making to shape its future.
