Intent Lifecycle

An intent starts with a user or an application: a user may want to send 1DAI Optimism for 1USDC on Arbitrum (a bridge or payment) or an application may provide a loan for some use-case. Intents, being expressed and signed are published to the intentpool.

The intentpool may or may not propagate the intent, p2p, to other intentpools, and private intentpools can be created. This primarily affects solver discoverability, however, once a solver has discovered an intent, the solver will work to determine satisfiability and optimal execution.

When a solver resolves to solve an intent, it will register the intent on-chain—implicitly bidding in a dutch auction for the intent. From this point, the solver will lock the users assets in an credible commitment device (CCD) on the source chain and provide the satisfying assets to the user via CCD on the destination chain.

Finally, oracles can dispute as to the relative finalization of the funds on the destination chain to the source chain to unlock the funds from the credible commitment device for the solver. Finalization is relative as there is still a minimal amount of risk in a chain reorg, depending on the finalization window. Granted there are no disputes, the solver’s fund can be unlocked and released.