The Power of "Intent": Exploring the 'Intent' Paradigm in the Ethereum Ecosystem

Author: PSE Trading Analyst @Calvin

Imagine the "intent" layer as a large box where everyone's "needs" are thrown in. The "Intent layer" matches these needs with each other, locking in the overall optimal or shortest path. At the end of the process, each need is met, simplifying operations while significantly enhancing system efficiency and effectiveness.

This is an intuitive explanation of "Intent."

This article will explore the significance of "Intent" in the Ethereum landscape and the potential impacts it may bring in the future.

Mass Adoption ------ The Core Significance of Intent's Implementation

"Mass Adoption," meaning "the widespread application or acceptance of ETH," is an important topic discussed at this year's ETHCC in Paris. The "ETH Mass Adoption" signifies not only the maturity of its technology entering the next stage but also symbolizes its further influence on the future digital society.

Although DeFi is innovative, its complexity and high barriers limit its popularization and expansion. Even driven by speculative factors, the actual number of people genuinely interested in and participating in DeFi is relatively small. This means that if DeFi is considered the core of blockchain ecosystem expansion, it will eventually encounter bottlenecks.

Future popularization is likely to be achieved not through direct interaction with DeFi platforms but through more user-friendly interfaces, such as mobile wallets, serving as intermediaries for interacting with DeFi.

"Intent" ------ the intent layer will significantly reduce the operational threshold for everyone, which is also the core significance that will drive Intent forward.

It simplifies the complex operations and interaction processes on the blockchain, making it more user-friendly. Specifically, it attempts to optimize protocols and infrastructure by merging multiple steps or operations into a single, simple, intuitive action, enabling users to achieve their goals more easily.

Three Definitions of Intent ------ Defining the Boundaries of Intent

After intuitively understanding Intent, it is necessary to define Intent and delineate its scope:

Focus on "Results" Rather than "Specified Processes"

The "Intent" project allows users to clearly express their transaction or operational intentions through declarations, rather than specific execution steps. This declaration should be clear, explicit, and understandable and executable by the system or service provider.

Execution Delegation

The "Intent" project provides a mechanism that allows users to delegate the execution of their intentions to the system, smart contracts, or third-party service providers. Whether executed automatically or manually, the execution process should align with the user's original intent and provide sufficient flexibility and optimization space when appropriate.

Verifiable Results

The "Intent" project should ensure that the results of transactions or operations are verifiable and traceable, so that users and relevant parties can clearly understand and verify the execution of the intent, ensuring that the final results meet the user's expectations.

An intent-centric architecture serves as an intermediary layer between users and DeFi infrastructure, greatly simplifying the user experience, lowering participation thresholds, and effectively capturing and executing user intentions. This not only helps expand the user base of DeFi but also provides a new development direction for future decentralized financial applications.

Three Layers of Meaning of Intent

The emergence of the term "Intent" allows us to describe and understand some elusive ideas more clearly and accurately.

Amoma's white paper is filled with abstract descriptions, 1inch Fusion struggles to articulate its core concepts, and Cowswap appears lost in positioning itself. However, the emergence of the term "Intent" provides a clear direction for these issues.

Now, when we discuss Amoma's design philosophy, 1inch Fusion's trading solutions, or Cowswap's trading models, we have a common and clear vocabulary ------ "Intent," to accurately describe and communicate. Through this vocabulary, we can not only better understand the core concepts of various projects but also achieve more accurate and efficient communication in discussions and research.

As the community's discussion of "Intent" deepens, the three layers of meaning that have quietly emerged are becoming increasingly clear.

First Layer: Simplification of Operations

In the world of Ethereum, the operations users face are often complex and specialized. The emergence of "Intent" aims to simplify these operations, allowing users to express their needs more directly without needing to understand the complex technical details behind them. For example, users only need to express the goals they want to achieve, and the system will automatically complete the corresponding operations.

Second Layer: Optimization of On-Chain Resources

Expanding the focus from individuals to the entire network, the meaning of "Intent" elevates to the optimization of on-chain resources. It helps the Ethereum network utilize its resources more efficiently by competitively allocating and executing transactions through smart contracts or service providers. This not only improves transaction efficiency but also supports the stable operation of the entire network.

Third Layer: Lowering Usage Barriers and Promoting Mass Adoption

The ultimate goal of "Intent" is to make it easier for more people to use Ethereum, lowering the usage barriers. By simplifying operations and optimizing resources, it enables ordinary users who do not understand technology to participate in the Ethereum network. This simplification and optimization pave the way for the mass adoption of Ethereum, allowing more people to enjoy the conveniences of blockchain technology.

In short, "Intent" starts with simplifying individual operations, gradually expands to optimizing network resources, and ultimately aims to lower the usage barriers of Ethereum, promoting it towards broader public adoption. Each layer is designed to make Ethereum better and easier to use.

Rethinking the Future On-Chain Ecosystem in the Context of "Intent"

In the context of "intent," the future on-chain ecosystem will be further expanded and enriched. This new paradigm transforms the blockchain ecosystem from a cold technical network into a living system that can understand and respond to user needs.

In this novel framework, users no longer need to choose entry points; their intentions are accurately recognized and directed to the optimal path by applications like AA wallets. Meanwhile, blockchain protocols begin to focus on product capability, where only those products that can provide the best solution paths will gain market recognition and usage. As high-quality products and protocols increase, the Matthew effect gradually emerges, while those protocols that cannot meet market demands begin to fade away, presenting a strict natural selection.

This intent-centric paradigm also influences the development of blockchain protocols and applications. Developers start designing and optimizing their products from the user's perspective to ensure they meet actual user needs. For example, new blockchain protocols may focus more on simplifying transaction processes, increasing transaction speeds, and reducing transaction costs to attract more users. At the same time, application developers may pay more attention to providing more user-friendly interfaces and how to automate the realization of user intentions through technologies like smart contracts.

With the promotion of the intent-centric paradigm, we also see various possibilities for blockchain technology. For instance, decentralized finance (DeFi) can provide more personalized financial services by understanding users' investment intentions. At the same time, supply chain management, identity verification, and many other application areas will also benefit from this new paradigm.

However, the promotion of the "intent" paradigm may also bring new challenges. For example, how to accurately identify and understand user intentions, how to ensure the privacy and security of user intentions, and how to effectively realize user intentions through technology are all issues worth in-depth research and discussion.

Rethinking the future on-chain ecosystem in the context of "intent" presents us with a more humanized, efficient, and orderly blockchain future. In this future, technology is no longer cold code and protocols but intelligent assistants that can understand and respond to human needs.

AA Wallet as a Form of Intent

In the broader context of "Intent," understanding the AA wallet reveals that it is not just a static account management tool but has become a transmitter and executor of user intentions. Its existence is not merely to solve a specific technical problem but to convey users' deeper on-chain needs and desires, providing a more direct and natural way of interaction within the Ethereum world.

Although the AA wallet has been designated as a "rights return" project by the ETH Foundation to be developed by ETH core developers.

Before the emergence of "Intent," it was challenging to find an appropriate angle to express its true value. Only Vitalik Buterin mentioned it multiple times in public speeches, yet it still felt distant and somewhat unclear.

However, with the emergence of the concept of "Intent," the AA wallet has finally found its counterpart and a new language to describe and understand it. It is no longer an isolated entity but has become an important component under the "intent-driven" design philosophy, serving as a crucial bridge connecting users and the Ethereum world.

The story of the AA wallet is not just a technical story but a narrative about understanding, expression, expansion, and connection. In this sense, the emergence of the AA wallet is not only an important milestone in the Ethereum ecosystem but signifies that the Ethereum ecosystem is beginning to mature and expand, with infrastructure essentially complete, opening its arms to a broad user base and actively embracing innovation and diversity in a new phase.

Not only to attract more users but also to realize Ethereum's long-term vision ------ to become an open, decentralized, and widely used global platform. Every new user's participation is a recognition and promotion of this vision. The AA wallet thus becomes an important bridge connecting users with Ethereum, providing a friendly entry point through its simple and direct interaction method, allowing them to easily explore the rich possibilities of Ethereum.

Conclusion

After exploring the profound connotation of "Intent," we glimpse the future direction of blockchain technology and the Ethereum ecosystem. "Intent" is not just a technical concept; it plays a core role in creating a more humanized, efficient, and orderly digital future. It calls for a new design philosophy that places users' real needs at the center, achieving the goal of mass adoption through simplified operations and optimized on-chain resources. Each layer of expansion reflects the continuous maturation of the Ethereum ecosystem.

In this context, understanding the AA wallet is also a concrete embodiment and practice of the "Intent" concept. It is no longer merely an account management tool but has become a transmitter and executor of user intentions, serving as an important bridge connecting users with the Ethereum world.