Web3 has long been plagued by fragmentation, with each blockchain operating as its own isolated ecosystem. This has led to a notoriously poor user experience, where managing multiple wallets, dealing with different gas tokens, and navigating various bridges feels like juggling too many moving parts at once. But as we step into the Abstraction Age, things are changing. Chain abstraction is no longer just a buzzword—it’s becoming a practical solution that promises to make cross-chain connectivity as intuitive as browsing the internet.

Standards like ERC-7683 are among the core pillars of this transformation. This proposed Ethereum standard for "cross-chain intents" aims to replace the fragmented, siloed ecosystems of today with a unified framework that allows users to interact seamlessly across multiple chains. Imagine a world where moving assets between blockchains is as simple as clicking a link. That’s the future ERC-7683 is helping to build.

In this blog, we’ll explore the basics of ERC-7683, its role in the chain abstraction narrative, and how Okto is adopting it to create a more user-friendly, interconnected Web3. We’ll also discuss the benefits for developers and users, the current draft status of the standard, and the collaborative effort needed to bring it to life.

What is ERC-7683: The Cross-Chain Liquidity Movement Standard

Blockchains have traditionally operated in isolation, forcing users to juggle different networks, tokens, and bridging steps just to perform simple cross-chain actions. ERC-7683 changes this by introducing a universal “language” for expressing user intentions, or “intents,” across chains. Instead of manually navigating complex protocols, users can simply sign an off-chain message describing their goal—like swapping tokens from Ethereum to an L2. Specialized participants called “fillers” then handle the technical details, from bridging assets to verifying transactions.

Key Benefits of ERC-7683 Include:

Standardized Cross-Chain Orders: ERC-7683 introduces standard data formats to represent actions, tokens, destinations, and deadlines. This universal “language” reduces confusion and makes integrations smoother.
Shared Infrastructure for Liquidity and Filler Networks: By defining a common order format, ERC-7683 encourages the development of shared filler networks. This allows liquidity to flow freely across chains, lowering barriers to cross-chain activity.
Enables Interoperability: Instead of relying on fragmented, custom solutions, everyone speaks the same “cross-chain language,” fostering collaboration and reducing friction.
Cross-Compatibility with Non-EVM Chains: ERC-7683 supports non-EVM ecosystems through sibling standards and bytes32 addressing, enabling seamless intent fulfillment across EVM and non-EVM chains.
Improved User Experience and Lower Costs: A single order can represent complex cross-chain actions. Multiple fillers compete to execute these orders, leading to better liquidity, lower slippage, and fewer failed transactions.
A Stronger Developer Ecosystem: Developers gain a standard set of tools and interfaces, freeing them from low-level complexities and enabling more innovation. This paves the way for dApps that operate seamlessly across multiple ecosystems.

In short, ERC-7683 lays the groundwork for a more unified Web3, replacing isolated silos with a cohesive, interconnected network.

How ERC-7683 Works: From Intent to Execution

To see how ERC-7683 works in practice, let’s look at how a cross-chain intent flows through the system:

1. User Defines an Intent: A user signs an off-chain message (using structures like GaslessCrossChainOrder) to express their desired action (e.g., swapping tokens between Ethereum and Arbitrum). This intent includes details like tokens, deadlines, and constraints.

2. Dissemination to Fillers: The signed intent is shared with filler networks—independent parties competing to fulfill user requests. Since all fillers operate under ERC-7683’s universal standards, they can easily interpret the orders.

Compensation and Feasibility: Fillers assess the order to determine if the specified inputs (tokens offered) and outputs (tokens desired) make it worthwhile. Compensation is based on the intent’s terms, ensuring fillers are rewarded fairly.
Decision to Fill or Not: Fillers can choose whether to fulfill an order based on profitability, deadlines, and execution complexity. If the terms don’t align with their costs or liquidity conditions, they can pass on the request.

3. Execution and Settlement Across Chains: Fillers handle the complexity of moving funds and verifying transactions. Settlement contract interfaces (like IOriginSettler and IDestinationSettler) and standardized structures (ResolvedCrossChainOrder) keep the process transparent, secure, and flexible. The system doesn’t prescribe one settlement method; instead, it leaves room for different verification models (optimistic checks, direct chain communication, hybrid approaches), allowing protocols to select methods that balance speed, cost, and security.

4. Completing the Process: Once fillers successfully execute the order, the user receives the desired outcome on the target chain. The complexity of bridging, swapping, and timing is fully abstracted away.

Fillers are compensated on the source chain, as defined in the user intent. If a filler fails to meet the constraints (e.g., underperforming outputs or missing deadlines), the system ensures the user’s assets remain secure, and no rewards are paid out. This additional flexibility ensures fairness for fillers while guaranteeing a smooth experience for users.

This workflow shifts complexity away from the user, ensuring a flexible, secure, and user-focused approach to cross-chain interaction.

Why ERC-7683 Matters for the Chain Abstraction Narrative

Web3’s fragmentation has long been a stumbling block, deterring newcomers and limiting the growth of decentralized finance, NFTs, and more.

Chain abstraction aims to change this by making multi-chain navigation as effortless as browsing the web. ERC-7683 plays a key role in this narrative by providing a common standard for cross-chain actions, ensuring consistent behavior across ecosystems.

By reducing friction and complexity, ERC-7683 pushes Web3 closer to its full potential: a cohesive environment where users can move seamlessly between blockchains and applications, unlocking new possibilities for innovation and interaction.

Benefits for Developers and Users

For Developers:

Reduced Complexity: Developers can integrate once and interoperate with various chains and liquidity sources. Less time spent on low-level plumbing means more time focusing on innovation.
Seamless Interoperability: Standardization ensures dApps and protocols can easily plug into a universal filler network, supporting cross-chain actions without constant reinvention.
Enhanced Security and Reliability: With a range of settlement options, developers pick the verification model that best suits their application’s trust requirements.
Accelerated Innovation: Freed from dealing with chain-specific intricacies, teams can quickly roll out advanced functionalities like composite DeFi operations or NFT marketplaces that span multiple blockchains.

For Users:

Frictionless Cross-Chain Interactions: Instead of managing multiple tokens, fees, and bridging steps, users sign one message and let fillers handle the rest.
Better Rates and Fewer Failures: Competition among fillers drives down costs, improves execution times, and reduces transaction failures.
Broader Access to Opportunities: ERC-7683 sets the stage for unified access to DeFi, NFTs, and other dApps across Ethereum mainnet, L2s, and beyond, all from one interface.
Confidence and Simplicity: Users gain trust in a system grounded in open standards rather than opaque, proprietary solutions.

Okto’s Adoption of ERC-7683: Building a More Accessible and Decentralized Future

Okto has long believed that users shouldn’t need a Ph.D. in blockchain mechanics to enjoy the potential of Web3. We’ve already streamlined cross-chain transactions in-house, and with the upcoming launch of the Okto Chain, we’ll unify our Decentralized Transaction Networks (DTNs), Decentralized Wallet Networks (DWNs), and a Unified Liquidity Layer (ULL) into a seamless infrastructure. ERC-7683 will be a cornerstone of this architecture.

By embracing ERC-7683, Okto takes a bold step forward:

1. Decentralization and Accountability: One of the core principles of Web3 is decentralization, and Okto is committed to upholding this ideal. Historically, cross-chain interactions have often relied on proprietary, behind-the-scenes processes controlled by a single entity. This approach can lack transparency and limit user trust.

By aligning our infrastructure with ERC-7683’s open standard, Okto is moving away from these closed systems. Instead, we’re creating a transparent, trustless ecosystem where third-party fillers can participate in fulfilling user orders. This shift ensures that the cross-chain experience is not controlled solely by Okto but is instead verifiable by the broader network. The result? A more decentralized, accountable, and user-centric system.

2. Third-Party Fillers and Better User Rates: With ERC-7683, user orders flowing through Okto’s network can be executed by multiple fillers competing to serve those requests. This competition is a game-changer. It drives better rates, faster execution times, and increased reliability, significantly reducing the likelihood of transaction failures. Users benefit from a more efficient and cost-effective system, powered by market forces rather than centralized control. In essence, ERC-7683 ensures that users get the best possible experience, with fillers incentivized to deliver optimal outcomes.

3. ULL & ERC-7683 Synergy: The Unified Liquidity Layer is one of the 3 pillars of Okto’s cross-chain architecture. By integrating ERC-7683 into the ULL, we’re standardizing how liquidity is sourced and settlements are handled across different blockchains. This universal order format eliminates the need to build custom integration logic for every new blockchain, saving development time and making the platform more adaptable as the ecosystem evolves. Whether it’s Ethereum, Layer 2 solutions, or other chains, the ULL ensures seamless liquidity access, powered by ERC-7683’s standardized framework.

4. Cross-Ecosystem Orders: While ERC-7683 originates in the Ethereum ecosystem, its scope has now expanded to include EVM-compatible chains and sidechains, enabling seamless interoperability across a broader and more diverse network. Okto’s approach aligns with this expanded vision, leveraging bridging technologies and custom integrations to extend ERC-7683-based workflows to non-EVM ecosystems, such as Solana or Aptos. Over time, this expansion can bring the entire idea of a “unified Web3” closer to practical reality.

5. A Broader Ecosystem and More Opportunities for Innovation: By championing ERC-7683, Okto isn’t just improving its own platform—we’re helping to shape an industry-wide ecosystem where protocols, dApps, and networks interconnect seamlessly. This collaboration fosters innovation, as developers can build more complex and interoperable applications without being bogged down by chain-specific limitations.

In summary, Okto’s adoption of ERC-7683 redefines how cross-chain interactions are managed. It replaces proprietary processes with a standardized, transparent framework, decentralizes transaction execution through an open network of fillers, and extends cross-ecosystem connectivity. By unifying liquidity access and embracing ERC-7683’s potential, Okto is positioned to lead the charge in the Abstraction Age, enabling a seamless, decentralized, and user-focused Web3 experience.

Draft Status of ERC-7683 and the Need for Collaboration

It’s important to note that ERC-7683 is currently in the draft stage. While it has already captured the attention of leading protocols, Layer 2 solutions, and ecosystem contributors, it’s not yet finalized. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity.

Why is this important? Because true interoperability and chain abstraction rely on community-driven agreements. Achieving a fully decentralized, user-centric trading environment requires everyone—developers, liquidity providers, dApps, wallets, and infrastructure projects—to come together and refine ERC-7683. This isn’t just about finalizing a technical document; it’s about laying the foundation for a new era of transparent and frictionless Web3 interactions.

Interoperability isn’t a luxury—it’s the backbone of a decentralized Web3 experience where users are free from the constraints of siloed ecosystems. Finalizing ERC-7683 is more than just agreeing on a technical specification; it’s about building a future where value flows seamlessly across chains, unlocking new possibilities for innovation and collaboration.

A Growing Coalition: ERC-7683 and Its Supporters

Okto is not alone in recognizing the potential of ERC-7683. A range of major protocols, L2 networks, and ecosystem contributors are rallying behind this standard, including (but not limited to):

Across Protocol & Uniswap Labs: These two are at the forefront of ERC-7683’s creation and early adoption.
- Across Protocol, a pioneer in cross-chain bridging, is co-creating ERC-7683, ensuring it aligns with real-world market needs. Their expertise in seamless asset transfers across blockchains helps shape ERC-7683’s practical applications.
- Uniswap Labs, known for its leading decentralized exchange, backs ERC-7683 to facilitate cross-chain trading and liquidity pooling. Their support signals a major DeFi player’s confidence in ERC-7683’s ability to enhance decentralized trading across multiple chains, promoting greater liquidity and user flexibility.
- Hart Lambur, CEO & co-founder of Across, emphasizes the transformative potential of ERC-7683: “Intents are a turning point for Ethereum’s future. It’s about making seamless cross-chain interactions a standard, not a challenge. By unifying Ethereum under open standards, we empower developers and users with speed, security, and simplicity. This is so much more than another standard—it’s foundational to Ethereum’s next chapter of growth.”
Nethermind: Nethermind, known for its high-performance Ethereum client, has also recognized the importance of ERC-7683 in addressing the challenges of blockchain fragmentation. Colin Kennedy, Distributed Systems Engineer at Nethermind, shares his perspective: “By building the high-performance Nethermind Ethereum client, we’ve seen how rollups and blobs enable scale. However, fragmentation creates real challenges: juggling gas across chains, liquidity split causing higher slippage, and network switching in wallets. ERC-7683 provides a flexible base for market-driven abstraction solutions that preserve Ethereum’s censorship-resistant foundation.”
Polygon: Polygon PoS, Polygon zkEVM, and the AggLayer support ERC-7683, bringing enhanced interoperability and UX to Ethereum's multichain world. “Polygon Labs actively supports initiatives aimed at enhancing cross-chain interoperability and user experience. Emerging standards like ERC-7683 hold potential to contribute to this vision as they continue to mature.”
Scroll and Linea: These platforms are integrating ERC-7683 to provide robust cross-chain functionalities, enabling users to engage in decentralized finance (DeFi) activities across multiple chains seamlessly.
Optimism: Optimism is adopting ERC-7683 to enable high-speed ETH and USDC transfers within its Superchain ecosystem and further facilitate its app layer interop for broader Ethereum.
Over 35 Protocols: A rapidly growing number of other protocols—ranging from emerging DeFi platforms and NFT marketplaces to specialized bridging solutions and decentralized applications (dApps)—are endorsing ERC-7683. Each brings unique perspectives and requirements to the table, ensuring the standard is versatile and robust enough to handle a wide variety of cross-chain interactions. This includes networks like Arbitrum, zkSync, and Base, all of which have expressed excitement for ERC-7683's capabilities in unifying Ethereum's ecosystem.

This broad support base not only validates ERC-7683’s importance but also accelerates its adoption across the blockchain landscape.

Embracing the Abstraction Age

We’ve long envisioned a future where the underlying complexity of blockchains fades into the background, leaving users free to explore, innovate, and transact across multiple networks as seamlessly as if they were all part of one grand ecosystem. With ERC-7683, that future is one step closer.

Neeraj Khandelwal, Co-founder of CoinDCX and Okto, captures this vision perfectly: “At Okto, embracing ERC-7683 isn’t just a technical milestone—it’s a statement of intent. We are committed to driving chain abstraction from concept to reality, fostering a more decentralized, open, and user-focused landscape. By adopting this standard, we’re building a future where interconnectivity isn’t a series of clunky bridge steps but a seamless experience powered by open standards and healthy competition.”

As ERC-7683 approaches finalization, we encourage developers, users, and the broader community to join the conversation. The more voices contribute, the stronger the foundation we’ll build. Together, we can transcend the fragmented status quo and enter the Abstraction Age—an era where blockchain complexity recedes, interoperability thrives, and users interact with a truly global, decentralized internet of value.