What Is an Intent?
In crypto, an intent is a signed statement of the outcome you want — for example, "swap this token for at least that amount of another" — rather than the exact transaction steps to make it happen. Specialized actors called solvers then compete to fulfill the intent, and your stated constraints define what counts as success.
This flips the traditional model. Normally you construct a precise transaction and hope the market doesn't move against you. With intents, you commit only to your minimum acceptable result; how it's achieved — which pools, which chains, whether orders are matched directly — is the solver's problem.
How Intents and Solvers Work
You sign an intent describing the outcome and its limits: what you give, the least you'll accept, and a deadline.
The intent goes to a network or auction where solvers compete to fill it.
The winning solver executes — routing across venues, batching with other intents, or taking the other side itself.
Settlement is enforced on-chain: if your conditions aren't met, the intent simply doesn't execute.
Why Intents Matter
Better outcomes: solver competition can mean better prices and less slippage than one fixed route.
Simpler UX: users state goals; the machinery of bridges and pools disappears from view.
Built-in protection: a well-formed intent can't settle below your stated minimum.
New trust questions: solver markets must stay competitive, or the margin they keep grows.
Intents and Trust Wallet
Trust Wallet's built-in swap works on the same principle from the user's side: you choose what you're trading and review the quoted outcome before approving, while your keys never leave your device. Whatever machinery executes the trade, nothing settles without your signature.
