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World desk2 min

Can Onchain Swaps Reduce the Need for Centralized Crypto Exchanges?

NEAR Intents illustrates how solver competition and onchain settlement can handle some cross-chain swaps, but it does not prove centralized exchanges are disappearing.
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Onchain tools such as NEAR Intents are designed to let people make some cross-chain swaps without using a centralized exchange. They do not replace every exchange function, and the available evidence does not verify the specific claim attributed to NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin in the supplied headline.

What the claim does—and does not—establish

The headline frames shrinking reliance on centralized exchanges as Polosukhin’s view, but no original interview, transcript, or reliable report confirming his specific statement was located. It should not be treated as a verified quotation or as evidence that centralized exchanges are generally disappearing.

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A narrower, supportable point is that some software can route cross-chain swaps through competing service providers and settle transactions onchain. NEAR Intents is one example of that approach. It illustrates an alternative for certain swaps, not a replacement for every service a centralized exchange provides.

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How NEAR Intents handles a cross-chain swap

NEAR describes Intents as software for cross-chain swaps and broader transaction execution. Its documented flow uses quotes from competing solvers, followed by onchain settlement through a verifier contract. Moving assets between chains also depends on bridging mechanisms and on whether the requested assets and networks are supported.

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  1. Request a quote. A user or an integrating frontend submits the desired swap.
  2. Solvers respond. Solvers evaluate the request and return signed quotes.
  3. Select a quote. The user or frontend chooses an available quote.
  4. Submit for settlement. The intent is sent to a verifier contract for onchain settlement; the relevant bridge path is part of moving assets across chains.

This is a documented design, not a guarantee that every token, chain, or route is available. NEAR’s technical materials explain the product’s intended operation; they are not independent validation of its performance or comparative security. See NEAR’s market-maker documentation, bridge information, integration guidance, and swap documentation.

What this can mean for someone swapping crypto

A service built this way may let a user complete some cross-chain swaps through an onchain route rather than placing the trade through a centralized exchange. Whether that route suits a particular transaction depends on the available assets and networks, the quote, fees and slippage, settlement time, and how the user can access or withdraw the resulting asset.

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Centralized exchanges can also provide functions that an onchain swap tool is not shown to replace, including fiat access, custody options, and particular market structures. The available sources do not establish a neutral comparison of cost, speed, or security between NEAR Intents and centralized exchanges. Compare the actual route and terms for the transaction rather than assuming one approach is universally better.

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What NEAR’s volume figure tells you

NEAR Intents’ product page displayed “$31B+ all-time volume across 35 chains” when accessed on October 7, 2026. This is a live, vendor-reported figure; the captured page provided no publication year or methodology, so it should not be read as an independently audited measure or proof that centralized exchanges are losing users. See the NEAR Intents product page.

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The practical takeaway

Onchain swap protocols expand the ways users can route some crypto transactions, and NEAR Intents documents a model based on solver quotes and onchain settlement. That supports a limited conclusion: some swaps may not require a conventional centralized-exchange interface. It does not establish that centralized exchanges as a whole are becoming unnecessary, or verify the specific attribution to Polosukhin.

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