The Technical Architecture of Cross-Chain DeFi I Anton Bukov

Thu, Oct 2, 2025, 12:00 AM

Anton Bukov, co-founder of 1inch, delivers a deep dive into the technical architecture powering the future of cross-chain DeFi. He outlines the three-layered design behind 1inch’s system: the Limit Order Protocol, Fusion for price discovery via Dutch auctions, and Fusion+ for atomic swaps with escrow and HTLCs. This framework enables users to trade across blockchains in a self-custodial, permissionless, and efficient way. Anton explains how the Limit Order Protocol leverages digital signatures, predicates, interactions, and dynamic pricing to create flexible orders with advanced conditions like stop-loss triggers or oracle-based rules. He then explores how Dutch auctions drive competitive price discovery and deliver better execution than traditional market orders. Fusion+ takes it a step further, enabling secure cross-chain swaps using hashed secrets and time-locked contracts—unlocking self-custody at the architectural level. The talk also examines the challenges of working across diverse blockchain ecosystems, from EVM-compatible networks to Bitcoin’s UTXO model. Anton highlights how Bitcoin’s limited opcodes constrain DeFi innovation but still support atomic swaps and payment channels, while EVM-based chains allow far greater flexibility. He emphasizes the importance of building truly permissionless, non-custodial systems as the foundation for long-term decentralized finance. By dissecting real-world examples, including multi-million dollar swaps, Anton demonstrates how this architecture improves efficiency, minimizes risks, and creates opportunities for cross-chain DeFi at scale. This session is a must-watch for developers, researchers, and builders eager to understand the mechanics behind next-generation decentralized finance. 00:00 – Introduction & session overview 00:35 – 1inch cross-chain architecture: three layers explained 01:04 – Limit Order Protocol overview (signatures, off-chain orders) 02:38 – Predicates & advanced order conditions (stop-loss, oracle checks) 03:34 – Dynamic pricing, interactions & smart order design 04:55 – Fusion: Dutch auctions for price discovery 05:51 – Real-world example: $13M USDT → ETH swap with surplus 06:36 – Fusion+: atomic swaps, escrows & HTLCs 08:07 – Cross-chain order flow & hashed secrets 09:48 – Adapting to different chains (EVM vs Bitcoin UTXO model) 11:19 – Why atomic swaps are key for self-custody 13:32 – Challenges integrating Bitcoin into DeFi 15:13 – Layer 2 differences: EVM vs Bitcoin 16:14 – Payment channels & Lightning vs broader DeFi 17:24 – Multi-chain development complexity & hacker opportunities 18:14 – Closing thoughts & Q&A _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *Unite Defi 2025* This ceremony was part of Unite DeFi 2025, an online hackathon sponsored by 1inch and held from July 25 to August 8. It brought together the world’s most talented Web3 developers, designers, and product builders to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full Unite Defi 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4YsK81x2echSjHDRQD09oJ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow 1inch* X: https://x.com/1inch ✅ *Follow Anton Bukov* X: https://x.com/k06a ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _