1inch Brings DeFi Swaps to Coinbase App

1inch, a decentralized finance (DeFi) aggregator, has integrated its Swap API into the Coinbase app, which has about 120 million monthly users, the companies revealed Wednesday evening.

The integration lets users of Coinbase’s decentralized exchange (DEX) feature perform non-custodial token swaps directly from their own wallets. The deal marks 1inch’s largest U.S. client to date, according to a press release viewed by The Defiant. 1inch boasts 25 million users and averages over $500 million in daily trading volume.

The move highlights growing mainstream adoption of DeFi as platforms continue to add on-chain services to retain users. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi has surged to $163 billion this year, per DeFiLlama.

It also reflects a broader trend of exchanges evolving into so-called “universal exchanges” (UEXs), offering more than just trading, such as access to on-chain tokens and tokenized real-world assets. The Defiant recently reported that the UEX trend is driven in part by recent pro-crypto regulations in the U.S.

“We are no longer just looking to unify DeFi; our vision extends to all financial markets,” said Sergej Kunz, co-founder of 1inch. “1inch’s non-custodial swap products are the ideal solution for centralized players across both crypto and TradFi as they move to bring assets on-chain in a seamless and secure way. It’s great to see Coinbase getting ahead of this shift; others will inevitably follow.”

The Growing Idea of the “Super App”

The move also comes amid a growing trend of U.S. crypto and fintech companies like Coinbase endeavoring to build “super apps.” This refers to platforms that bundle financial and communication services, a model long popular in Asia.

In July, Coinbase rebranded its non-custodial wallet as the Base app, announcing plans to consolidate trading, payments, social features, messaging, and mini-apps into a single platform. CEO Brian Armstrong has stated since 2023 that the exchange aims to become a “super app.”

On Tuesday, Sept. 30, Scott Shapiro, head of trading at Coinbase, reiterated to The Defiant the company’s vision to become an “everything exchange.”

The evolution, Shapiro told The Defiant, is meant to “empower traders to explore new opportunities, whether that’s through DEX trading and perpetual futures, or through prediction markets and tokenized equities.”