Intent: One of This Year’s Hottest Narratives

Since Paradigm coined the term last year, and with real-world applications emerging this year, many products have embraced the concept of “intent.” However, most of these intent-driven products are still focused on the technical level—solving specific problems in particular scenarios, such as optimizing limit order flow or improving user experience. But ask yourself, what is your ultimate intent? More often than not, the answer will point to asset returns. Yet, the current methods of pursuing returns for assets haven’t truly entered the “intent” era.

Intent means acting freely, without hesitation. But as long as you hold crypto assets, hesitation is inevitable. Should you lock your xxETH for staking yields, or convert it back to ETH for trading? Your xxETH can’t be used in another protocol, nor can you easily sell it on a centralized exchange (CEX). Why should you care about the difference between aETH and bETH? Why isn’t your ETH the same as someone else’s ETH? These complications shouldn’t be your burden. What you truly seek is seamless access to returns across the entire ecosystem, not getting stuck in isolated processes.

The true “intent” on a foundational level should enable your assets to be smoothly usable, going where you want them to go and finding the returns you’re looking for—without any friction. And now, dappOS’s recently launched “Intent Assets” understand your needs for asset efficiency and returns.

In the past, dappOS was mocked as a VC buzzword without much practical value. But recently, if you check Chinese Crypto Twitter (CT) or various research reports, you’ll see discussions everywhere about dappOS’s Intent Assets. Even Binance’s Web3 wallet has launched campaigns encouraging users to experience the full Intent Assets operation process.

So, what exactly are Intent Assets?

In simple terms, they allow yield-bearing assets to be immediately usable on-chain. Whether you’re withdrawing Intent Assets to a CEX in the form of native assets or using them on-chain to buy meme coins, participate in lending, or stake, users can access their assets directly—no extra steps, no wait times, and no high slippage.

Why Should You Pay Attention to Intent Assets?

For managing your own assets, Intent Assets offer the most capital-efficient method to generate returns. For discovering Alpha projects, proximity to trading and solving real-world problems make these projects more likely to attract market attention. And for those looking to yield farm or airdrops, dappOS is currently pushing Intent Assets through partnerships with multiple on-chain protocols, potentially creating a “gold shovel” effect.

In a relatively sluggish market with few hotspots, getting ahead of and experimenting with projects like these could lead to new discoveries.

Dynamic and Static in Harmony: The Ultimate Intent of Holding Crypto Assets is Asset Appreciation

What are dappOS’s Intent Assets? Before answering this question, we need to understand the challenges currently faced by crypto assets.

As we mentioned at the beginning, smoother operations and more understandable steps are merely means to an end, not the ultimate goal. The true purpose of intent is asset appreciation and maximizing returns. Therefore, the core of intent should be centered around asset growth—ensuring smoother asset flows to fulfill the goal of appreciation and generating more returns.

Why has the Intent of asset growth not been fully realized?

First, the burden brought by fragmented ecosystems. There are numerous L1/L2 chains that don’t directly communicate with each other, every transaction requires gas fees and may fail, and there are multiple types of USD stablecoins that are not interchangeable.

Second, the friction caused by an overabundance of assets. My aETH cannot be used as bETH, my aETH cannot be withdrawn to a CEX for sale, and I cannot even directly swap it for ETH on a DEX. The most ideal way I envision for generating returns often requires overcoming some friction. And after that friction, the effectiveness of asset growth diminishes.

For example, converting aETH to ETH often has a withdrawal period, and swapping it on a DEX might lead to slippage losses due to insufficient liquidity. At its core, this issue arises from the conflict between the dynamic and static nature of crypto assets.

When assets are static—locked in a protocol—they are essentially contributing to the protocol’s TVL (Total Value Locked) in search of yields. However, when you want your assets to flow, the protocol doesn’t help you with an easy exit, nor does it have any incentive to do so (since it prefers you to stay locked in).

So, the xxETH or similar assets you hold are essentially just tickets for individual projects, rather than a universal pass to the entire ecosystem.

If switching tickets is a hassle, who would want to visit the park, let alone stay active in it?

In the end, what you need is an asset that is dynamic and static at the same time:

• Static: Your tokens can be deposited in various Layer 2 networks and application protocols, such as xxETH, to earn yields through staking.
• Dynamic: Your xxETH can seamlessly be used in any activity where you aim to generate additional returns, whether that’s buying meme tokens, staking elsewhere, or swapping. You don’t have to worry about extra friction-inducing rules like cross-chain transfers, gas token conversions, or withdrawal waiting periods.

Your assets should operate in a way that combines both states—dynamic and static—without the friction of state transitions. They should be highly available across the ecosystem. This is the essence of the concept behind Intent Assets.

And this is exactly what dappOS is working on: truly making returns as straightforward as “what you see is what you get.”

Breaking the Dimensional Barrier—More Than Just a “Yu’ebao”

Now that we understand what Intent Assets are, let’s take a closer look at how dappOS is implementing them. As the saying goes, seeing is believing, so exploring the product’s operational interface offers the clearest understanding.

1. Asset Redemption Scenario

Imagine you have ETH assets spread across different L1/L2 networks. Through the dappOS wallet interface, you can directly mint these assets into Intent Assets, specifically intentETH.

In a typical scenario, when you want to redeem your xxETH for ETH, you usually have to find a DEX for the swap, and the liquidity there might not be sufficient. Even if you try to redeem the ETH via the original protocol, there may be different waiting periods for redemption.

However, if you hold intentETH, you can use it directly in supported applications listed under the DApps section, as shown in the image above, without worrying about redeeming or converting it back to ETH. When you need to transfer assets back to a centralized exchange (CEX), you can withdraw intentETH as ETH directly, with no lock-up period and low fees.

1. Multi-chain dApp Interaction Scenario

Similarly, if you want to convert back to ETH, it’s likely because you’ve found more attractive opportunities on another chain. For example, if you want to trade contracts on GMX in Arbitrum but don’t have any funds on Arbitrum, traditionally, you’d have to cross-chain your ETH and then interact with GMX. If there are multiple opportunities across different chains, you’d need to split your ETH into several parts, keeping some gas and seed money on each chain.

But with intentETH, you can directly use it on GMX for contract trading as if it were ETH, without going through the cumbersome steps of “ETH → Cross-chain transfer → Reserving gas on the target chain → Swapping for the target chain’s token → Interacting with the target chain’s app.” This reduces the number of things you need to consider and significantly enhances the user experience.

As shown below, the intentETH I minted on BNB Chain can be directly used in GMX, making the entire process seamless and almost unnoticeable.

If we talk about the user experience, intentETH eliminates the “fragmented” feeling often associated with ETH across different chains—it’s ready to use whenever you need it. When in motion, it’s a globally fluid form of ETH, and when idle, simply holding intentETH generates passive income.

As shown in the image above, dappOS already supports many well-known dApps that allow direct interaction with intent assets. From regular crypto assets to intent assets, and across various multi-chain scenarios, how is all of this made possible?

The key lies in the Intent Execution Network of dappOS.

This network is responsible for converting and applying intent assets, ensuring that users can seamlessly use their assets in different scenarios, while handling complex tasks like minting, burning, and conversion through backend service providers.

In fact, you don’t even need to care whether this network exists because its main purpose is to handle the complexity for itself and leave simplicity for the user. In simple terms, you express your final intent, and it handles the execution.

By “execution,” it means users can choose how to transfer their assets across different chains and seek yield opportunities. In practice, however, the Intent Execution Network of dappOS handles these processes for you.

For security-conscious users, the question naturally arises: why let someone else execute tasks for you?

Efficiency Comes First: \
The Intent Execution Network provides institutional-grade cost efficiency to regular users.

How should this be understood? \
In the dappOS network, there are service providers that help you execute tasks, such as swapping assets or finding the best routes. Because dappOS service providers operate in a free-market environment, they compete for the chance to execute user tasks through bidding. In such a competitive environment, only those nodes with the highest execution efficiency and lowest costs will succeed.

These professional nodes often have access to execution strategies that regular users don’t, such as:

* Offsetting inflows and outflows among multiple users.
* Securing low-cost loans to advance funds for user redemptions, and pooling yield-bearing assets to redeem them as a large account to avoid slippage losses due to low liquidity on-chain DEXs.

The Intent Execution Network of dappOS essentially empowers users with institutional-level execution capabilities, ensuring a smooth experience with intent assets.

Security Isn’t Compromised:
First, intent assets are backed by a set of underlying assets and function essentially as withdrawal receipts. Users can mint or burn assets by calling the contract themselves. This allows users to redeem intent assets into the underlying assets even in extreme cases, and minimizes the impact if one of the underlying yield-bearing assets experiences issues.
During redemption and usage through the dappOS network, the Optimistic Minimum Stake (OMS) mechanism ensures trust and security. Each service provider cannot take on tasks with a value exceeding their staked amount. Additionally, users offload the risk of handling redemption and execution to service providers better equipped to manage these risks. This reduces the likelihood of user errors during the process of manually signing multiple times or interacting with different platforms to achieve their goals.

As shown in the diagram above, users only need to submit their intentions. Service providers then execute these intentions, validators verify the execution, and coordinators manage task distribution. Under economic incentives and interest alignment, each role fulfills its specific function.

At this point, you might think of this as a “decentralized Yu’ebao”. In fact, that’s quite accurate. Many products have claimed to be “on-chain Yu’ebao,” but they are more like money market funds, offering only interest-bearing services with very limited use cases. The real-world Yu’ebao, on the other hand, meets everyday needs, allowing users to spend or transfer funds as they wish. In contrast, money market funds often require redemption for use, sometimes involving a waiting period.

Thus, the fundamental difference between Yu’ebao and money market funds lies in the immediacy of fund availability and the variety of use cases. Compared to Web3’s traditional “deposit and earn” financial products, dappOS’s Intent Assets are not only decentralized and non-custodial but also function more like a genuine Yu’ebao. They address the challenges of low-cost, high-efficiency use of assets across a wide range of scenarios through the Intent Execution Network.

In terms of usability, liquidity, and security, intent assets clearly outperform previous similar products:

• Low Friction: You simply express your intent, and the flow of crypto assets across ecosystems and chains is minimized in friction.
• High Security: Assets are non-custodial and not controlled by a single entity. The signing authority remains with you; essentially, you are outsourcing the intent tasks to others. If the tasks are not completed, you receive compensation under the OMS mechanism.

For a more intuitive understanding, the following chart provides a comprehensive comparison of intent assets with other products based on asset usage breadth, yield, and security.

Efficiency, high availability, and security—having it all is perhaps not a luxury but something that crypto assets should naturally achieve.

Expanding Reach and Ecosystem

After reviewing the product, let’s consider the feasibility of what dappOS has accomplished.

The success of a project often hinges on its endorsements and ecosystem support.

Funding Background: Initially supported by Binance Labs, dappOS has garnered backing from prominent VCs in recent rounds, including Polychain, Sequoia China, IDG, and OKX Ventures. Although there’s growing skepticism about VC-backed tokens in the current market, the influx of capital undeniably adds legitimacy and credibility to the project. Regardless of how the project token itself unlocks or performs, endorsements provide a valuable reference for those seeking returns and opportunities in different stages of project development.

Ecosystem Development: The flow of intent assets relies on the support of numerous partners. dappOS has already formed strategic partnerships with over ten entities, including applications as well as L1 and L2 networks. The underlying yield sources of intent assets come from major projects with billions of dollars in TVL, ensuring both security and returns. For a project focused on a specific asset, the extent of support from other projects and ecosystems directly influences the asset’s impact and potential.

Currently, dappOS’s intentBTC, intentETH, and intentUSD are backed by various LRT/Pendle PT assets (e.g., wstETH, sUSDe, sDAI, stBBTC). The initial rollout of intent assets covers both Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems. Due to the network’s marginal increasing effect, as more assets branch out, additional partner support significantly boosts the liquidity and availability of intent assets.

Players are most concerned with returns and tangible benefits.

Recently, Binance Web3 Wallet is launching a user incentive program in collaboration with dappOS, with a reward pool of 500,000 USDC.

The activity features two tasks: “Minting Intent Assets” and “Interacting with Intent dApps,” encouraging users to experience intent assets and intent dApps based on the dappOS Intent Execution Network through the Binance Web3 Wallet.

Interested players can learn more about the details here.

Outlook: The Promise of Intent

Ultimately, intent begins with narrative and manifests in reality.

A product that resolves high asset availability and capital efficiency, turning intent into tangible results, is likely to be appreciated by both sides of the supply-demand spectrum in the crypto world.

For the demand side, users seek to maximize asset returns. With better liquidity and easier usability, there are naturally no reasons or barriers to reject such solutions. If dappOS unlocks more possibilities while ensuring security, who wouldn’t embrace it?

On the supply side, the market is already saturated with countless projects and chains competing fiercely. Applications within the ecosystem aim to attract users. In addition to offering rewards, they also hope for users to seamlessly migrate from other platforms—sometimes, a small step in migration cost can translate to a significant increase in TVL.

Historical data shows that projects integrating with dappOS have indeed experienced significant growth in user numbers and TVL, under constant variables.

This underscores a fundamental principle in the crypto world: maximizing capital efficiency and optimizing the trading experience. A truly inclusive intent is a better intent, moving beyond mere narrative and technique.

Those who follow the right path receive greater support, and don’t forget the source of your benefits. We hope to see more “well-diggers” like dappOS, benefiting the entire crypto ecosystem.

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1. This article is reproduced from [tech flow], the original title “The ultimate intention of Web3 is asset appreciation, dappOS’s “intended assets” know what you need”, the copyright belongs to the original author [深潮 TechFlow], if you have any objection to the reprint, please contact Gate Learn Team, the team will handle it as soon as possible according to relevant procedures.

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