Talos Connects to NEAR Intents, Unlocking Cross-Chain Solver Liquidity for Institutional Crypto Trading

Talos has integrated NEAR Intents to provide institutional clients with access to decentralized liquidity through their existing request-for-quote workflows. This move allows trading desks to execute cross-chain swaps and source inventory from a network of solvers without managing separate wallets, gas tokens, or custody arrangements, effectively bridging the gap between institutional controls and onchain markets.

What was announced

Institutional clients can now interact with the NEAR Intents solver network using the same interface they employ for spot blocks, over-the-counter options, and ETF creation and redemption. This integration addresses a significant barrier for institutional desks: the historical need to maintain parallel operating models for decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Sourcing liquidity onchain has typically required separate custody, counterparty exposure management, and a reconciliation process disconnected from a firm's primary books. While monthly DEX spot volume on Ethereum grew to over $26 billion in October 2026, many firms have avoided these venues due to these operational complexities.

NEAR Intents operates on a competitive quoting model where a network of liquidity providers, known as solvers, compete to fill orders. These solvers source inventory from more than 30 blockchains and centralized venues globally, carrying the inventory risk themselves. The protocol has settled approximately $37 billion in cumulative transaction volume, with $4.8 billion occurring in the past month alone. To facilitate this, Talos developed a delegated signing service that routes intents to a client’s existing custodian for approval. This custodian-agnostic layer ensures that swaps, which typically settle in under a second with fees below one cent, are reflected in a consolidated portfolio view alongside centralized holdings and staked positions. The NEAR Intents infrastructure handles bridging and gas management, ensuring that either every leg of a trade completes or none does via a verifier contract.

"This is what institutional access to DeFi should look like: no new custody, no new workflow, and competitive cross-chain pricing on every order,"

Alex Shevchenko, CEO of Defuse Labs

The companies involved

Talos is a prominent provider of institutional-grade infrastructure for the digital asset lifecycle, offering technology that spans from price discovery and execution to settlement and data analysis. The firm has established itself as a central hub for large-scale trading desks, connecting them to a wide array of liquidity providers and venues. Talos has focused on building a platform that mirrors the sophisticated control frameworks found in traditional finance, allowing institutions to engage with crypto markets while maintaining rigorous compliance and operational standards.

NEAR Intents is a universal liquidity protocol developed by Defuse Labs. It represents a shift toward "intent-based" architecture, where users specify a desired outcome rather than a specific path of execution. This approach relies on a network of solvers to handle the complexities of cross-chain routing and gas management. By abstracting the underlying blockchain mechanics, the protocol aims to provide a seamless trading experience that rivals centralized exchanges in speed and cost. The infrastructure is designed to settle swaps through verifier contracts, ensuring atomic execution across disparate chains and reducing the technical burden on the end user.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely tracked the expansion of the Talos ecosystem as it integrates diverse asset classes and liquidity sources. In August 2026, the publication covered how Talos Integrates STS Digital to Expand Institutional Crypto Options and Spot Liquidity, following a move to incorporate prediction markets via Talos Integrates Kalshi to Bring Institutional Prediction Markets to Digital Asset Trading. The firm’s analytical capabilities were also highlighted in a report on Bitcoin Becomes "Digital Gold": Talos Analysis Reveals Shifting Macro Identity. Additionally, the broader trend of institutional adoption was reflected in our coverage of the DTCC Successfully Processes Live U.S. Trades Using New Asset Tokenization Service, illustrating the growing intersection between traditional settlement rails and digital assets.

What this means

This integration signals a maturation of the "intent-based" trading model, moving it from a niche DeFi concept to a viable institutional tool. By removing the friction of gas management and fragmented custody, Talos is putting pressure on traditional centralized exchanges that have historically relied on their ease of use to retain institutional flow. The industry is moving toward a "single pane of glass" reality where the distinction between onchain and offchain liquidity becomes irrelevant to the trader. However, the reliance on a solver network raises questions about long-term solver diversity and the robustness of cross-chain verifier contracts under extreme market volatility.